The Extremely Weird Smart Naruto story!
by snakeofdreams
Summary: Smart!Naruto Crossdressing!Naruto. Naruto thought long and hard about why Haku had pretended to be a girl, and finds that he likes the reason, so he decided to try it out himself! He's gonna knock those ninja off their feet...by a spray of nosebleeds! XD
1. Chapter 1

Naruto walked with his team through the forest, towards Konoha. He faced the ground, in deep thought. He had just been on his first C-Rank mission, only to find out it had been changed to A-Rank. He had made an oath never to be weak and had met Haku. Haku. Naruto frowned slightly thinking of him. He remembered when he had first met him. Naruto had been passed out under a tree, and Haku had woken him up. The boy-who-looked-like-a-girl could have easily killed him.

Naruto, contrary to other people's opinions, was quite intelligent, and was rather empathic, able to almost sense people's feelings just by being near them. He had first realized this when he had met the Kyuubi. Instead of malice and evil, Naruto had only felt remorse and loneliness, no matter how much the fox tried to convince him otherwise.

Naruto shook his head slightly. He was getting off track. Where was he? Mission, Zabuza, Haku- ah! Haku. Thankfully, his mind had returned. Haku was in so many ways like Naruto. Hated for something he couldn't control, an orphan, and had a close connection with water and air. Naruto had wondered why Haku pretended to be a girl, and had never got an answer. He tried to think of any benefits. He thought to himself. A girl was always thought to be weaker, so why would he-

Naruto stopped, causing Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi to stop too, looking at him in question. That's it! Haku might have pretended to be a girl to make others underestimate him. That was so smart! He was pulled out of his thoughts when Sasuke spoke.

"Hey dobe, what's the hold up? We've got to keep moving, unless you're too tired." He sneered, trying to get the Blonde to respond. Naruto looked at him, blinking.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something." He said and Sakura gasped dramatically. While the team had gotten closer during the mission, she still didn't like Naruto all that much.

"Naruto actually thinks?!" She asked, and Kakashi chuckled, before speaking.

"What were you thinking about?" He asked, sounding curious.

"Haku."

"The cross dresser we fought? What, did you have a crush on him?" Sakura joked, and Naruto shook his head,looking kind of sick.

"No, just really respect and admire him. That's kinda gross, Sakura-chan. He was like my brother." He said, and he starting jumping again, and the rest of Team Seven followed, confused.


	2. Chapter 2

When Naruto opened his apartment door, his pocket was heavier than usual, the pay for the C-turned-A mission weighing him down.

Undressing himself, he collapsed onto his bed and drifted to sleep, only to be forcefully tugged towards his inner mind. Naruto looked around sharply, and relaxed when he saw the familiar sewer that was his mind, and the base of many jokes.

"Kyuubi! Why did you bring me here?" He asked, and stomped up to the cage in the center of her mind. Inside was a man, who had long red hair and black eyes, but that wasn't the most interesting thing about him. It wasn't his fox ears and tails either. No, it was rather what he was wearing. He was wearing girl clothes. A skirt and everything. He looked so much like a girl that if you didn't know he was a guy you would have that he was female. He was thin and his legs were shaved. The man turned to Naruto, and frowned.

"I don't know, you came here yourself." He said, and crossed his arms, leaning to one side. Naruto blinked.

"Why would I do that?" He asked, and Kyuubi grinned.

"Maybe you wanted to ask me something…?" He asked, and Naruto snapped his fingers.

"Yes, that's right! Why do you wear girl clothes?" He asked, and Kyuubi laughed.

"Because people think I am either weak or crazy! Then when they turn their backs, I stab them. It's much more satisfying that way." He said, then stopped smiling. 'Why do you ask?"

'Because I met another who I think did that too. It seems very cunning." Naruto said, and Kyuubi smirked.

"Maybe you should try it. You would make a very convincing girl." Kyuubi said, thoughtfully. Naruto smiled.

"Maybe, but I'm still talking about you. How is it that a man could pretend to be a woman so easily?"

Kyuubi struck a pose. "Why, you must have the right body for it of course! You can't be to fat, or too manly!" He said with a giggle.

Naruto sweatdropped. "Ookkaayy. Now I think I'm gonna go now."

"Don't forget the fashion advice!'

"Err…I won't."

The sun shone on the blonde's face as he slowly joined the land of the living, and his eyes scrunched up, trying to block it out. A few seconds later he groaned and shot up, cursing the sun for it brightness. Flipping his legs over the side of the bed, he flinched at the contact with the cool wood.

Getting and eating his breakfast, he wondered if he was going to do anything other than train. He thought back to his Academy days and grinned. He hadn't done a prank in a while. Running to his bedroom, he tried to think of a prank or something that he hadn't done yet. He hurriedly opened his cupboard and was about to reach for his orange clothes, when he noticed something.

His hand stopped halfway. Something else had caught his eye. Near the back of the cupboard, was a pile of girl clothes. Naruto frowned, trying to remember when he had bought them. Ah, that was it. When he had been making the Orioke no jutsu, he had originally thought that you couldn't create clothes, so he had bought them, only to exile them to the back of his closet when he had FINALLY learnt the truth.

Naruto's mind replayed what Kyuubi had said earlier, and looked at the pile, a smile slowly forming on his face. It seemed fate WANTED him to wear them. Unknown to him, he sounded like another Konoha shinobi. (Somewhere in Konoha, Neji sneezed.)

A few minutes later, Naruto walked out of his room. He wore an orange mini-dress (that reaches where a miniskirt would end) and had a short black jacket on top (short because it ended just after the breasts would be ((if he was a girl)). Because he had thought the dress was too short, he wore skin tight black thigh length shorts (like Sakura), and on his feet he wore boots with orange metal plating down the front. He had a black belt that held a scroll with all his things. Kyuubi, delighted with Naruto's decision, pushed chakra into the boy, causing his teeth to sharpen, his pupils to slit, and his hair to grow at the back, so he could tie it into a ponytail (like Itachi). Walking to a mirror, Naruto gasped. He really looked like a girl. Kyuubi wasn't lying. He swirled around, enjoying the twirl the dress made. Naruto shook his head. The Kyuubi must be making him gay, he thought.

Naruto looked at the clock and cursed in a very unladylike manner. (snicker) He ran out the door, jumping over rooftops towards Team seven's training grounds.


	3. Chapter 3

"Where is that Naruto-baka?" Sakura screeched, walking back and forth, annoying Sasuke to no end. The banshee had been doing this for thirty minutes already.

Suddenly, Sakura yelled something. Sasuke looked up, only to have his jaw drop. Naruto was running towards them dressed like a girl! His hair was longer, and he seemed really happy. "Hi guys!" He said, in a slightly girly voice.

"HI? WHAT ARE YOU DOING, DRESSED LIKE THAT?!" Sakura yelled. Naruto laughed, and held his ponytail, running his hair through it.

"It started as prank, but I think I like it better dressed like this, ne?" He said quietly, grinning. Sakura just stared. Sasuke blinked. Naruto giggled nervously.

This is what was going through Sakura's head.

Naruto + girl clothes equals GAY

Naruto + GAY equals competition for Sasuke!

Wait, Naruto + Sasuke equals (CUTE PAIRING! NAH JUST KIDDING) Hate/rivalry.

So, Naruto + girl clothes equals KAWAII!

"KAWAII!" Sakura squealed, apparently forgetting her anger. "I'm going to call you Naru-chan now!" She yelled, hugging Naruto, causing him to blush, shocked at her sudden mood swing.

"O-okay…" He started, but a poof interrupted him.

"Hello, Team Seven! Today we're going to- Hey where's Naruto?" he said looking around.

Sakura held up a hand. "Naru-chan's over here!" She called, and Naruto waved, smiling slightly.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He walked up to him. "Don't be silly Sakura." He said, his eye forming an upside-down U. "Hello, miss. I think you've got the wrong training ground."

Naruto giggled. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "No, Kakashi-SENSEI, this is just where I need to be…" Naruto purred. Kakashi frowned, unaffected by the girl's seductive voice.

"Who are you?" He asked.

Naruto laughed. "It's me, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto." He said, and Kakashi's eyes widened, and then shot backwards, powered by a stream of blood. "Now we know which way Sensei swings." Naruto said, smirking at the pile of blood that was his teacher. Suddenly Kakashi was all up in his face. "Is that you, Naruto?! Why are you dressed like that?" He asked, looking genuinely confused. Naruto shrugged. "I like it." He answered simply. Kakashi nodded, reaching underneath his mask. He grabbed hold of something, and ripped off a second, bloodied mask that was underneath it. He threw it away. "Well, with that surprise over and done with, I can show you my surprise!" He pulled out three scrolls.

"I have been studying your personalities and fighting methods, and have put in these scrolls some jutsus and such that I want you to learn." He said, his eyes forming an upside-down U. Naruto gasped, and the others looked shocked. "You mean you're not useless?!" He said, sitting down, crossing his legs. He caught the scroll that was thrown at his head and started to read it while the others caught theirs.

Kakashi started to explain. "Sakura, you might find that your scroll is larger than the others." At Sakura's nod, he continued. "That is because of your heritage. I did some researching and I found out who your mother was." When he mentioned her mother, Sakura's eyes widened, and Sasuke looked at her curiously. Naruto rolled his eyes. Kakashi turned to him. "Naruto would probably know, if what Anko told was true." At this, Naruto's eyes widened.

"She told you!?" He yelled, and fell down when Kakashi nodded. Sasuke started getting annoyed.

"What is going on?" He asked.

Naruto sighed. "I wasn't going to tell you guys but I have a bloodline, of sorts." He lied slightly, causing Kakashi to roll his eye. "It gives me the ability to be more animal-like, and sense things." Sakura and Sasuke stared.

"What's that got to do with me?" Sakura asked. "Well, whenever you would really loud at me, I would sense a jump in chakra. I looked it up. I didn't always call you a banshee for nothing, you know!" He said, stressing the word banshee. Kakashi patted him on the head, and Naruto looked at him suspiciously. He hadn't patted him before he changed his clothes.

"Good job, Naruto. You see Sakura, your mother's family had a curse on you from generations back. They were effectively undead, banshees." THUMP! Sakura fainted. Sasuke caught her as she fell back, and put her on the ground. Naruto giggled.

"What do we do with her?" He asked.

"Let her rest while I describe your scrolls.' Kakashi said, his hand still resting on Naruto's head. "Okay Sasuke, in your scroll holds many element jutsus of different types, but mainly fire and earth. There are also a bit of assassination techniques in there, I think they would suit you, but I never, and I mean NEVER want to see you use these on a Konoha shinobi, outside of special missions, got it?" Kakashi asked, and Sasuke nodded, as he didn't have any Konoha enemies, as his brother wasn't a Konoha nin anymore.

"Sensei, why does the scroll have other elements as well? Can't you only use the elements you are affiliated with?" Sasuke asked, while reading through his scroll. Naruto shook his head.

"No, it's just harder to learn the ones that are not your element." He said, earning a surprised look from the other two.

"Yes Naruto you're right, but how did you know?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto grinned. "Hime told me." He said, and he got two blank stares. "Hime, also known as Mitarashi Anko. Sometimes," He started to say, and ran his hand through his hair sadly. "When I got into…trouble with the villagers, I would live in the forest. Anko-hime found me there. She took care of my wounds, and taught me to protect myself." He said. "From her...rather extreme teachings, I am able to manipulate wind and water, but of course I'm still a beginner." Naruto grinned at the other two's dumbfounded looks, but his smile faded when Sasuke's turned to anger.

"Why have you got all this? What did you do to earn it?!" He shouted, suddenly desperate. "I need this power to kill my brother!" Naruto frowned and brought his hand up. SMACK! His palm connected with Sasuke's cheek, making him fall back.(AN:for some reason, I always shout, 'DOOM!' at this point...)

Kakashi stayed back to see how the incident would play out. Naruto sighed and sat down next to the angry and shocked genin. "Pain, Sasuke. Pain. Through terrible treatment and sadness, some one, no two people decided to throw me a bone for once. I was given power to protect myself and others, which includes you and Sakura-chan as you are my teammates and maybe friends." He took a breath.

"That doesn't explain everything. You don't have a reason to existence, given by someone else. I must get stronger to kill him." Sasuke whispered, feeling slightly guilty.

"You do not understand power, Sasuke." At this Sasuke looked up at him. "The best way to use power is to protect your precious people with it. Haku told me that, and now I tell you. I will help you get stronger, but only if it is for the right reasons." With that, he got up, and held a hand down, to help Sasuke. But to everyone there, even Sakura, who was secretly awake, listening to the conversation, the hand was to seal a deal. A deal of friendship.

Sasuke looked up at it, his face unreadable. Slowly a small smile unfurled, and his hand rose, only to stop suddenly, and the paler boy's face turned serious. "You're not going to turn me gay, right?" He asked, and Naruto blinked.

"Wha- wait, I'm not gay!" Naruto whined, and Sasuke smiled, and finally grabbed Naruto's hand.

"Denial isn't just a river, Naruto."

Naruto huffed, but his eyes were bright. He smelled salt from behind him, and turned around, to see Sakura there, tears down her face.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" He asked. Sakura stared at the cross dresser.

"You are so different from what I remember, Naru-chan. Were you really like that? Or was that an act? I swear I won't be angry if it was." She spoke quietly, and Naruto eye's widened.

"I-I… I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, but if I seemed too smart or strong, the council may have had me executed." He said. The other two looked at him curiously, but didn't press the subject.

Clap Clap Clap.

Team Seven turned to see Kakashi smiling down at them. "Good job. It seems that you have become more of a team than ever before. I was going to make you train some more, but it seems that you are all exhausted from this angst-fest. You can continue training if you want. Meet me here tomorrow." With a poof, their teacher was gone. Sakura turned back to Naruto.

"Naru-chan…" She started. "Yes?" "Can you…can you also help me to become stronger? I'm feeling as if I'm… not doing enough in this while you two are getting better everyday. I'll focus hard, and not even Sasuke-kun will distract me!" This shocked the boys and she had their full attention.

"Is this true, Sakura-chan?" Naruto said, and Sakura nodded, looking straight into his eyes. He grinned widely. "That's good, and I'm thinking I speak for Sasuke too when I say this, but from now on, we will have a fresh start. I'll be truthful and lift my mask…"

"I will fight for my friends, not become my brother's puppet…" Sasuke said, and turned to Sakura.

"…And I will pull my own in this team. I'm gonna be a real kunoichi!" Sakura said, and they all nodded.

"…So…" Naruto started. "How about some Ramen? I'm starved!" He whined, causing the other two to roll their eyes.

"Typical."


	4. Chapter 4

--Four weeks later...--

Sakura ran through the clearing, looking around, then cursing, and running out again. She was wearing new clothes, as she didn't find the old ones to be good for combat. Now she wore the same top of the dress, but had dyed it to be white and black, so most of it was white, with the exception of the patterns that had been there, which were black. She now had white bell sleeves too. Both her hands were bandaged. Naruto had convinced her to dye them black so they would hide any blood it soaked in, making her look stronger to enemies while fighting. On the bottom, she wore white three-quarter trousers, and the normal ninja shoes. She had her hair tied up in a low ponytail, which trailed behind her as she ran.

"Where are they?" She whispered to herself in frustration. She had learnt a new jutsu from the scroll and wanted to show her teammates, who were nowhere to be found. She sighed and took to the trees, speeding through them faster than she ever had been able to do before. If two weeks of training could produce these results, she thought happily, what would a year do? During the time, she had focused on two things; her stamina and 'bloodline'. By charging chakra into her fist, and releasing it in short, controlled bursts, she could hit something with extreme force. She had learnt this while punching a tree, determined to become strong. She heard familiar voices, and turned sharply to the left, entering another clearing, where she found Naruto and Sasuke sparring lightly.

"Aww, now it won't be fair!" She said, with a slight whine to her voice, proving that she had taken on a bit of Naruto's personality, as all of Team seven were influenced by each other. The two boys turned and looked at her in confusion. She smirked, and walked up to them. "I want to fight one of you. Now." She said and Naruto giggled.

"We have another Sasuke now." He said. "And now Sakura fights Sasuke for the title of Bad Ass!" Soon after, Naruto was punched into a nearby tree. "Woah, there! Save your energy for the fight, Sakura-chan!" He called, getting up from the crushing blow almost instantly.

Sakura then looked at Sasuke, and raised an eyebrow at Sasuke's clothes. He wore black trousers and the same shoes. He wore a fish net shirt with a type of padding strapped to his chest like Kiba did, and over that he had an open black jacket, with a large neck and the Uchiha symbol on the back. (Inside, Inner Sakura is drooling)

"What's with the new clothes?"

"Naruto changed his, you changed yours, but you both get all excited when I change mine? Am I that awesome?" Sasuke said, coolly. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Hardly, but your clothes were fit for shinobi, and you aren't a cross dresser." She said, and brought her fist up. The two ran at each other, and Sakura swung her fist at Sasuke's face, but he dodged, running up a tree to a high branch, then made seals.

"Katon: Fireball technique!" He yelled, and hundreds of tiny fireballs shot towards her. She opened her mouth and let out a high pitch screech, and sound waved moved outwards, pushing the fireballs away. She then held a hand out towards Sasuke, and started to sing or chant a strand of words from a different language. Sasuke felt a pull, and second or two later, he found himself two meters away from the kunoichi, with her fist coming towards him. "Shit!" He cried, and jumped away, making more seals as he did. His hand sparked slightly with a small charge of electricity. He jumped down, and placed his hand on the ground. Sakura stared at him as if he was crazy. Suddenly she felt a shock and jumped back, wincing in pain. She looked up to her crush in shock. He smirked. "You didn't hear the name of the jutsu, Sakura-chan. It is Earth and Lighting style: Conducting Technique. Electricity passes through the ground. I just lead it towards you." He said, and charged his hand again with the jutsu.

Sakura jumped around, to dodge the attacks, while her brain tried try to think of a solution. It did. She smiled to herself and jumped onto a tree. She saw the bottom of the tree smoke slightly, but she wasn't harmed. "You can't use Wood elements, can you? That was only possible by the First." She said smugly, and started to sing a light song, and Sasuke started to feel light-headed and happy. But suddenly the song turned daunting and dangerous. Sasuke felt some kind of killing intent surrounding him, and looked back up from himself to Sakura. His eyes widened as a dark glow surrounded his teammate, and a true banshee took her place, hair lengthening and flying behind her, a long, bloodstained dress barely touched the floor as she floated a bit off the ground. She screeched and flew towards him, sharp nails flying towards him, in fast swings. As one hit is arm, the skin turned grey, as if the flesh had died.

A few minutes of mauling later, Sasuke fell to his knees. He saw a flash, and when he could see again, he saw Sakura standing above him, as normal as ever. He looked down, and saw no big wounds. Sakura saw the confusion on his face. "Genjutsu, Sasuke-kun. That was a nice fight." She said, smiling widely.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and got up, dusting his clothes. "Yeah, it was. Hey Naruto," He called up to the other boy, who cocked his head to the side in question. "When are you going to show us your moves?"

Naruto laughed. "In the Exams! I just LOVE to show off, ya know!" Naruto said, giggling a bit.

Sakura pouted. "Aww, can we have a hint, please?" Sakura asked, and Naruto jumped down to their level.

"Of course, Sakura-chan!" He put his hands on his hips. "This is all I'm gonna say! It involves a blizzard." He said, and the other two sweatdropped.

Sasuke sighed. "That doesn't help us to guess at all, Naruto! That was as helpful as you are straight!" He jeered, joking, with a smile on his face.

Naruto pouted, pulling off the 'kicked puppy' look perfectly. "Why must you always bring my sexual orientation into our conversations, SAS-KAY-KUN?" He whined, gaining a giggle from Sakura. Sasuke gaped.

"You aren't denying it, Naruto?" He asked, and Naruto shook his head.

"No point anymore. Also having you bug me about it every two seconds is annoying as hell!" Sasuke grinned triumphantly. "But if Kakashi-sensei tries to put the moves on me, swear to Kami-sama, I'll become asexual!" At this Sakura and Sasuke glared.

"Has he been on to you, Naru-chan? If he has, I'll fucking kill him, then revive him, then kill him again!" Sakura cried, and Sasuke nodded in agreement. Naruto sweatdropped at their protectiveness.

POOF! "Yo, Minna-chan!" Kakashi greeted. "Hello, Ero-sensei." Sasuke and Sakura greeted back.

Naruto had his own nickname though. "Hi Kaka-Baka!" Naruto said. "Done spying on us?"

Kakashi nodded. "Though I'm kinda hurt that you would think of me as a pedophile, that was a nice spar, you two!" He praised his students, and took out his book, Icha Icha Paradise Yaoi edition, which was under a strong Henge. "Anyways, that's not why I'm here. I'm here to tell you that the Chunnin Exams are up, and I believe that you three are ready for them!" He announced, taking out three slips of paper, with names on them, saying that they have been allowed to participate. The gennin took their slips, looking over them in excitement.

"Wow, thanks Kaka-Baka! This is great!" Naruto cried, the others agreeing. "So when's the exam?" Sasuke asked, Kakashi tried to remember the date. "Umm, the exams on...tomorrow." He said, his eye forming a U shape. Team Seven panicked, with the exception of Sasuke, who was simply too cool for that. He settled for glaring at his teacher.

"what! I've got to prepare! See ya tomorrow, guys!" Sakura cried, running off.

Naruto giggled, leaning against a tree. "Trust her to only look for us to spar, but run off when it ends!" He commented.

Sasuke turned away from Kakashi to Naruto. "Don't you have to pack, Naruto?" he asked, and Naruto shook his head. He prodded the scroll in his belt.

"Got it all right here, Sasuke-kun. I don't need to worry about it!" He crowed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, glared one last time at Kakashi, then walked off, muttering a goodbye to the two. Kakashi lifted a hand to bid Sasuke farewell, then turned to Naruto, his nose still buried in his porn. "So, what are you going to do now, Naru-chan?" He asked. Naruto eyed him carefully. Kakashi brought his head out of his book, cocking it to the side. "Naruto?" He asked again, bringing Naruto out of his thoughts. Naruto kept looking at him though. "Well..." He mumbled slowly, while stepping closer to Kakashi until they were standing against each other. "I'm going to do this..." Naruto breathed, and Kakashi's visible eye widened. "And I'm going to do this!" Naruto, taking advanage of his sensei's temporary shock, reached up, and plucked the Icha Icha Paradise book out of Kakashi's hands. He stepped away, and walked off, giggling as he snuck a look at the page he had turned to.

Kakashi stood there, shocked, for a full ten minutes, until he reached into his pocket, pulled out his second copy, and walked out of the clearing.


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto ran to catch up with Sakura.

"Hey Sakura-chan, do you want help with the packing? I'm all ready to go." He asked, and Sakura smiled at him.

"Sure, Naru-chan! My house is just up the street. About five minutes away!" she said chirpily, and the two what seemed to be both girls, walked down the street. They noticed a square box following them, with two eyeholes.

Naruto knelt down to look into Moegi's wide eyes. "Moegi-chan, Udon-kun, Konohamaru-kun, what are you doing? I told you that disguise doesn't work!" Naruto cried, exasperated.

"Oh my gosh, Naruto-kun! Why are you dressed like that?" she asked in shock.

The box shifted. "What's boss dressed like? I can't see, damnit!" Konohamaru called, trying to face the eyeholes.

After a while, Udon groaned in annoyance. "Just lift the box, Kono!" He said, and the box flew into the air.

The two boys finally got a look at Naru-chan. "Oh my GOD!" They cried, then were thrown back by twin sets of blood streams. They crashed a few meters behind them, and Naruto, Sakura and Moegi looked at them in shock.

"Those two got turned on by Naru-chan/Naruto!?" They cried, and Naruto looked slightly embarrassed.

"I guess my sexiness was to much for them to handle." He joked; Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Whatever Naru-chan."

"Ack! Boss, why do you look like a weak onna?" Konohamaru yelled, causing the girls to glare at him.

Naruto clucked his tongue dissaprovingly. "For the exact reason you just got the girls mad at you for!" He giggled. "People, for some reason, generally think of women as weaker, when they have guys beat at many things, like chakra control. I want people to underestimate me! Then I can trick them. You understand, Kono-kun?" He asked, and looked down to see Konohamaru drooling up at him.

"You make a pretty girl..." He mumbled, and Naruto sweatdropped.

"No, Kono-kun! Don't go gay! Don't go gay!" Sakura cried, shaking Konohamu lightly, well, lightly for her.

"Ack!" Konohamaru cried again, but not of shock, but of pain, as his head shook back and forth at a perilous speed.

Udon looked at the commotion in shock. "W-what's going on?" He asked Naruto, as Moegi tried to stop Sakura. Naruto ran a hand through his ponytail.

"Well...since I changed my clothes, people have been mistaking me for a girl, which is what I wanted, but once they found out that I was a guy, they thought they were turning gay. Some people just can tell that I'm a guy and think I'm really cute or hot. Kono-kun is going through the ritual to ungayify him." Naruto explained matter-of-factly.

Udon stared. "Wow..."

"Yeah..." Once Konohamaru had been knocked out of his stupor, he stood up again, and pointed at Sakura.

"Who the hell is this?" He yelled, glaring at her. Naruto stood next to Sakura.

"This is my teammate, Sakura-chan!" He introduced, and Sakura held a hand up in greeting. Konohamaru circled the two, in deep thought.

"Eh, Boss-chan?" Konohamaru started, stopping in front of them. "Why would you hang out with such a flat chested girl with such a big forehead? I know, it's to make you prettier in comparison, right?" He asked, and gulped as both Naruto and Sakura stepped forward with murderous intentions.

"Naru-chan," Sakura growled, turning her head slightly in Naruto's direction, "Let's kill him, slowly." she finished. Naruto's eyes glittered.

"Let's." He smirked, and shook his hands quickly, and his nails (painted black) turned into claws. "Kono-kun, just so you know, these nails are coated in a very potent poison. I suggest you avoid them. Consider this...training." He purred, and they both ran after Konohamaru.

Konohamaru ran as fast as his legs would allow. He turned to look behind at the girls, to see how far away they were. Th only problem with this is that while he was looking back, he couldn't see what was goind on ahead of him, and he crashed into a nin from Sand. "Oof!" He cried, falling back to the ground.

The Sand nin growled, and reached down to grab Konohamaru's shirt, pulling him up again. "Grr! You brat! You hurt me and your gonna pay!" He yelled in the young boy's face.

The girl next to him rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Kankuro put him down! HE may be near here!" She hissed. Kankuro ignored her. "I don't feel him anywhere near." He said. Naruto and Sakura ran up to them.

"OI! Make-up-face! Put him down!" Naruto called out.

He looked at the two. "Sorry, weak onnas, Temari, but this kid hurt me, and he's gonna pay. What are you gonna do about it, anyway?" He said, causing the girls, including Temari, to glare at him.

"Well you can't be too strong if you got hurt by a tiny kid." Sakura said, her eyes narrowed.

Kankuro snorted. "Ha! Who are you to talk about being not strong, you weak Konoha nin!" He crowed. Sakura clenched her fist, and lifted it up. Kankuro raised an eyebrow. "What are you gonna do, punch me?" He asked, and Sakura smirked.

"Not you..." She trailed off, then winked at Naruto. She puched the ground, hard, causing the whole area around her to explode. Dust and rocks filled the air and hid her from view. Once the dust settled, the Sand nins could see the damage Sakura had caused with just one punch. Kankuro blinked, shocked for a while, then smirked again.

"Well, I have to admit, that was impressive. But how does that even hurt me?" He jeered, only to feel himself turned around, to see Naruto grabbing him, a hand around his neck, and one of her claws pressed against his neck.

Naruto grinned evilly, showing off huge fangs. "Like this, big boy." Naruto grinned, then turned him so he was facing the side of the street. "HIT HIM, SASUKE-KUN!" He yelled, and a rock flew through the air, hitting Kankuro's wrist, causing him to let go of Konohamaru. Naruto let go of him, and jumped back to Sakura, and Sasuke jumped down to join them. "Sasuke-kun, why did you use a rock? Why not a kunai? You should have cut him!" Naruto whined lightly.

Sasuke smirked. "I did. I used one of the sharp rocks Sakura sent up." He explained, and at closer examination, Naruto saw with glee that the hand was oozing blood. Sasuke turned to address the Sand nin, Kankuro. "Explain yourself. Now." He demanded.

"Why do I need to tell you anything, Leaf nin?" Kankuro sneered back.

Sasuke gestured toward Konohamaru, who was standing behind Naruto. "I'd like to know why a Sand nin was threatening to hurt our Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru." He said, and Kankuro stuttered, paling.

"Stop it, Kankuro. You're a disgrace to our village." a cold voice said. The two Sand nins froze, and turned to the tree Sasuke had just been sitting on. A boy, shorted than the other two, stood there upsidown. He had dark rings around his eyes, showing a lack of sleep. He had red hair, green eyes the colour of mint ice cream (...shut up. I eat a lot of mint ice cream...) and the kanji for love on his forehead.

"G-Gaara..!" Temari stuttered. He glared at her, then in a swirl of sand, appeared next to her. She backed off slightly. He didn't appear to care.

"Whatever. Let's go." He said, and they started to walk away. Sakura stepped forward.

"Wait." She called, and the three stopped, and turned to her. She looked at them coldly, her emerald green eyes staring into Gaara's emotionless ones.

"What?" Gaara said uninterested. "You are only visitors. I suggest you don't act so rashly. Next time, a leaf nin might not be so forgiving." She said. Naruto put his hands on his hips.

"What she means is, KANKURO-KUN, is that the next time you threaten one of Konoha's kitlings, she won't stop me from tearing your throat out, and feeding your blood to the plants." He growled, a hand on Konohamaru protectively. Kankuro shuddered, Temari took in a big breath, and Gaara raised an eyebrow, or what would have been his eyebrow if he had one.

The three started to turn, when Naruto called Kankuro's name again.

"What?!" Kankuro asked, it was clear he wanted to get away from Team 7.

"By the way. Earlier you called me an onna..." Naruo started.

"Yes...?" Kankuro asked. Naruto smirked.

"Just so you know, I'm really a guy." He said, causing Kankuro and Temari's jaws to hit the floor. Team 7 bid them goodbye, and walked past them toward Sakura's house.

"Wait." A voice called out to them. They stopped, and turned to see Gaara standing in front of them. "What are your names?" He asked. Sasuke looked at him coolly.

"Is it not polite to give your own name first?" He said, and Gaara just blinked.

"I am Sabaku no Gaara." He said. The three Konoha nins bowed their heads in greeting.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke, next me is Haruno Sakura," He nudged his head towards Sakura, who held a hand up. "And next to her is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto tilted his head to the side.

"Hello Gaa-kun." He said.

"In the chuunin exams, I wish to fight one of you." Gaara said, then walked off. Team seven shrugged and continued their journey. They agreed to stay clear of that guy.


	6. Chapter 6

NEXT DAY

"Hello, Sakura-chan, Naruto-chan." Sasuke greeted as he met his teammates out side the Academy.

They both smiled at him. "Ready to go, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, as they neared the door. Sasuke nodded, and they opened the door.

"Wow...it's very crowded..." Naruto muttered, looking over at all the people on the first floor. "And this isn't even the room we are supposed to be in." Naruto whistled, lightly. They walked past the groups of people and up the stairs. One the next floor, they heard a commotion.

"Please! Can you let us through?" a girl whose hair worn in two buns on the sides of her head, pleaded. Two other genin blocked the way to room 301. One of them shoved her to the ground.

"No! Can't you see that we are trying to save you from humiliation! You are weak! Too weak to become chuunin!" He said, and raised his foot. Sasuke's eyes widened. The other genin was going to kick the girl. He jumped forward, and raised his leg to block the strike. It seemed another genin, wearing a green jumpsuit, with huge eyebrows, also wanted to help the girl, and he also went to block the kick. Dust rose, and once everyone had stopped moving, they gasped at what was going on.

Sakura had also jumped into the fray, blocking Sasuke's foot with a hand, and blocked the other two with a finger each. The two unnamed genin looked at her in suprise of her great strength. "Sakura-chan, I thought you didn't want to show off your strength." Sasuke asked.

Sakura shrugged. "Well, that was before I found out that we were going to be attacked outside of the classroom." She said, glaring at the genin blocking the path.

"Lee! You said we should hide our abilities!" The girl said, getting up almost instantly. The boy looked at her apologetically. Naruto's eyes widened a fraction.

"Sorry Tenten." Lee said. Sasuke lowered his foot, and Sakura lowered her hands.

They walked back to Naruto, who was looking at them in exasperation. "Must you two show off so? We're not even on the right floor yet, and your fighting!" He cried, and Team Seven turned to the stairs again, leaving many confused genins who would probably not become chunnins behind.

"Wait." A voice called. Naruto put a hand to his head.

"Wow, deja vu..." He mumbled, and they turned to see Lee and Tenten, along with another boy. He had long hair and eery white eyes, similar to Hinata. "Yes?" Naruto asked, but Neji did not take his eyes off of Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"What are your names?" He asked the two.

They looked at him. "We would like to know your name first." Sasuke said. He looked to the side to see Naruto fuming. Sasuke almost smirked. Naruto hated to be ignored.

"My name is Hyuuga Neji." Neji said bluntly.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke said, just as blunt.

"Haruno Sakura, and this is-" Sakura started, pointing the Naruto, but was interupted.

"I don't care about who she is." Neji said coldly. "Dressed like that, I hardly think that she's a ninja." The air suddenly turned cold.

"What. Was. That?" Naruto hissed, her mouth in a snarl, fangs growing, giving her a slightly demonic appearance. Her eyes turned from sea blue to ice blue. She stared at Neji, as cold as the new temperature.

"I said that you will never make a good ninja. You should quit now." he said. Naruto smirked.

"If it weren't for the fact that Lee-kun needs you to become chunnin, I would have killed you be now." he growled. Lee looked at Naruto closer.

His eyes widened. "No way! Naruto-kun, is that you!?" He cried, looking Naruto up and down. Naruto smiled.

"It is. It is nice to see you again." Naruto said.

Tenten looked back and forth between the two. "Wait, Naruto-KUN? You're a guy?" Tenten cried. Naruto nodded.

"Lee and I were roommates in the orphanage, before Lee got adopted, and I got kicked out." He explained, and gasped as Lee drew him into a huge hug.

"Naruto-kun! It's so nice to see you again!" He cried. "Your flames of youthfullness are blinding!" He cried.

Naruto drew himself out of the huge before he suffocated. Neji watched all this with indifference. "So you know Lee. It doesn't make you any less of a loser." He said.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "All these jerks really make me want to spill some blood. Let's go guys." He said, and the three walked upstairs. Lee looked at Neji reproachfully.

"You shouldn't talk to Naruto like that. He is powerful, even back when we were in the orphanage." Lee said, before running to catch up with Team seven. "Hey! Naruto-kun!" He cried out. "I wish to fight you!" Naruto smiled.

"Nope, sorry, Lee-kun; I'm saving the fight for the exams!" He said. Lee then turned to Sasuke.

"Would you care for a fight?" he asked, and before Sasuke could accept, Sakura put a hand over his mouth.

"Sorry Lee-kun, but we're already quite late for the exams, I hope you'll understand." she said kindly.

Lee looked disappointed for a second, then brightened. "Well then, may I ask if, once the exams are over, you would like to go on a date with me?" He asked hopfully.

Sakura smiled. "I'll think about it, Lee-kun." She said, and he smiled back.

As team seven walked off, Naruto swooned. "Aww, my two best buddies are in LURVE!" He said, then turned to Sasuke. "You need to find a girl too, or else people will think you are gay." He stated, and Sasuke choked on air.

"W-what?!" He he said, and Sakura giggled.

"Oh nothing..." She sung, as they entered the room.

"Naruto, it seems like everyone is still waiting. Can you go and see if there are any teams we should look out for?" she asked, and Naruto nodded.

"'kay!" He chirped and walked off to find some gullible genin. Sasuke and Sakura walked off, and found Team eight and ten near a corner.

They walked towards them. "HI SASKAY-KUN!" Ino's voice rang out, and she glomped him from behind.

Sasuke glowered at her. "Ino, get the hell-" Sakura slapped him lightly on the arm.

"What did I say about your manners, Sasuke-kun?" She said sternly.

He sighed. "Ino-san," He started again. "can you please get off me?" He asked, and in her shock, Ino let go. Everyone stared at Sasuke. "What?" He asked. Sakura looked at the two other teams.

"Anyway, it's nice to see you guys again." she said.

Shikamaru looked at the two. "Troublesome. Where's Naruto?" He asked. Kiba smirked.

"He probably was so scared he didn't want to come!"

Sakura glared at him. "Naru-chan's not scared of anything! Well," She thought to herself, "Maybe ghosts..." She trailed off.

Sasuke continued for her. "Naruto-chan is collecting information about the genin here." He said, and everyone looked at him in shock again. He frowned. "Why is everyone always staring at me like that?" He asked.

Sakura giggled. "Because you used to be all emo!" Sakura said.

"But he was your emo, wasn't he, Sakura-chan?" A feminine voice asked behind the two.

They moved out of the way, and the other six felt their jaws drop. "Ah, Naru-chan, we were just talking about you." Sakura said. Naruto looked at her through clear blue eyes.

"I heard. Well, I got some info for ya!" He said happily, only to turn and see Teams eight and ten. "Oh it's you guys. Hello!" he waved, then turned to Hinata. "Ah! Hina-hime! How are you today?" He chirped.

Hinata smiled at him, shocking many. "I'm fine Naru-chan." She whispered. Naruto grinned, showing of his fangs, and wrapped an arm round her shoulders.

"Oi! Get away from Hinata-chan you cross-dresser!" Kiba yelled. Akamaru yipped. Naruto looked at him, underneath his eyelashes.

"Oh? Are you jeaous, Kiba-kuuuunnn?" he purred. He cuddled up next to Hinata even more, making her giggle at the expresion on the others faces.

Kiba growled. Naruto grinned, then growled back, but it sounded more animalistic. "Aww, is Kiba-kun trying to sound like a puppy?" He smirked. Then grabbed Kiba and pulled him in a group hug. "There you go!" He said, and Kiba struggled against Naruto's grip, before giving up.

"Are you the rookies?" a voice asked, and the genin turned to see a white haired genin walking towards them. He pushed his glasses back onto his nose. "You need to stop talking. This isn't a class reunion, you know. Many people want to kill you where you stand."

Naruto looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "That's a coincidence cause there are many people who I want to kill where THEY stand, too!" He said, looking at the purple wearing genin over Hinata. Kiba broke out of Naruto's hold.

"Well, I think I like you rookies, so I'll help you out a bit." He said taking out a stack of cards. They all seemed blank.

"How many times have you taken part in the chuunin exams? It's obvious your not a rookie." Sakura asked him.

"Heh, you are sharp. My name is Kabuto. This is my seventh time in the exams." He introduced himself.

"Ha! That must mean that you suck then!" Kiba yelled. Naruto just turned to look at him.

"Quiet, dog-breath. If you misbehave, I'll have to punish you!" He hissed, licking his lips a little. Kiba turned slightly pink, and Naruto giggled.

Sasuke slapped Naruto lightly on the back of his head. "Naruto-chan, behave." He admonished. Naruto grinned widely.

"What are you going to do, punish ME? And here I was thinking you were straight!" He joked, then turned his attention to Kabuto. "Do you have info on individuals?" He asked, with puppy eyes, and Kabuto nodded, a bit shaken at Naruto's behaviour, placing a finger onto the top card.

"Is there anyone in particular who you want?" The older genin asked.

Sasuke nodded. "Gaara of the Sand and Rock Lee of the leaf." He said, and Kabuto sent chakra into two of the cards.

"Ok, first Gaara. He's done 8 C rank missons, one B rank, and- wow, an A rank mission too! Seems that he's a newcomer from another country so I don't have much info on him..." Kabuto trailed off, then his eyes widened. "Wow! It seems he returned from all his missions without a scratch!" He exclaimed, then turning to the other card.

"Okay! Now Rock Lee. He's a year older than you, and graduated last year, but he didn't take the exams. He has done 20 D rank missions, and 12 c rank. He seems to only be focusing on his Taijutsu. Nothing else is very impressive..." He finished, then then turned to Team Eight and Ten.

"You have anyone else you want to know about?" He asked them. Shikamaru stepped foreward.

"It's troublesome, but can I see the info of Team 7 please." He asked, and Ino jumped up next to him.

"Yes! Show us Sasuke-kun's skills!" She cried, and Kabuto took out three more cards.

After he placed chakra into them, and showed them to the group, Naruto groaned. "No!" He cried, grabbing his card and looking down at it in horror.

"What is it?" Chouji asked. "Don't you like your stats?" He asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No, those are fine, my big-boned friend..." He mumbled, and Chouji beamed. "It's just that they changed my picture!" He cried.

Sakura took the card from him. "Well, you know they would, so why are you worried?" She asked, and Kabuto took back the cards annoyed.

"Can I start now?" he asked, and Naruto shrugged. Kabuto held up Sasuke's card first. "Okay, first we'll do Sasuke. He's done- wow! Forty D ranks, ten C ranks, and one A rank!" He exclaimed, and the others stared at him. "his Ninjutsu is the most advanced, with Taijutsu afterward. He's is on Team Seven, who are known as the Heroes of the Wave, during a C ranked mission that ended up A ranked. He, along with his team, fought Missing Nin, Momochi Zabuza, and Haku. Both missing nin died as a result." He paused for a second to catch his breath.

"Next, there is Haruno Sakura. Done the same number of missions as Sasuke. She excels in Genjutsu and Taijutsu afterward. Her chakra control is nearing perfection, and she is able to power her attacks with her chakra, giving her super strength. She also fought Momochi Zabuza and Haku. She is the physically strongest of the three." He finished.

"next we have Uzumaki Naruto. Mostly the same amount of missions, but has completed twenty more D ranked, because of his mastery of Kage Bunshin. He excels in Taijutsu, then Ninjutsu. He fought Momochi Zabuza and Haku. He is the fastest of the three. He currently wields the sword of Momochi Zabuza-" He tried to say.

"Wrong." Naruto interupted. "I gave that to Hina-hime." He corrected, and all eyes, which were beforehand, staring at Naruto in shock, turned to Hinata. she tried to make herself smaller.

"Hinata-chan! You never told me you had a sword!" Kiba cried.

"I- I didn't want to use it on you guys." she said. "It's very dangerous." She said. Shino nodded, and stopped Kiba from badgering her any further.

"Since when were you and Naruto best buddies anyway?" Ino asked, staring at Hinata intently. "Since we were seven..." Hinata trailed off, and everyone blinked.

"B-but you were all shy and acted like you had a crush on him!" Ino said in shock.

Hinata blushed. "Naru-chan is my brother, nothing more." she said.

Naruto grinned at her. "Hinata-chan is my hime!" he said, and she smiled.

Before any other words could be spoken, the examiner for the exam walked in. "Urusai you maggots! My name is Ibiki, and I'm your examiner for the first exam! Read off the board at the back of the room, to find out where you are sitting." he ordered, and Naruto went to check for his team.

After telling Sakura and Sasuke where they were to sit, he turned to Hinata. "Hina-hime, you are sitting next to me!" He cheered, and she joined in, only she was quieter.


	7. Chapter 7

As they sat down, Ibiki started to talk again. "This first test is gonna be a paper test," He started, and Naruto felt a sense of foreboding. He could almost hear Kiba's laughter at that. "The test will last one hour. There are ten questions. Everyone here starts off with a perfect score of ten, and a point will be removed from your score every time you fail to ask a question or get it wrong. If we catch you cheating, we take two points off. If you lose all your points, you along with your team will fail." He said and Naruto almost banged his head against the table out of habit.

The sheets were handed out, and a large group of jounins and chuunins filed in, sitting on both sides of the room. Naruto sweatdropped. Security much?

"The test begins now, answer the nine questions on the sheet, and once 45 minutes have past, I will reveal the last question."The instructor ordered, and Naruto smiled at Hinata, wishing her good luck, which she happily returned, and looked down at his sheet.

'what the...! These are supposed to be answered by genins? Only Sakura-chan has any chance of answering these. and 'the hell did Ibiki say that only two points would be removed if we're caught cheating? In all other tests, we'd fail straight away...' He mused.

'Come on, kit, you've nearly got it...' Kyuubi prodded, waking from his nap.

'Unless...we can cheat, to get the answers, but we can't get caught...' He discovered, and Kyuubi celebrated.

Naruto discreetly looked around, to locate someone who looked like they knew what they were doing. He found no such person. 'Oh well, guess they are all behind me. I'll just use a jutsu to find out...' He thought, and focused on the water in the air. He molded it, to take the form of an eye. He raised a hand to his face, and rubbed it, keeping his hand on his left eye, looking as if he was trying to concentrate. He was about to send his third eyes on it's merry way, when he met the eye of Gaara, who also was hiding a second eye, but made of sand.

Both genin's eyes widened, and they both thought basically the same thing, '...the hell? He copied my jutsu! I should kill him for that!' But, instead of any violence, the two merely nodded to eachother, and continued. Naruto made his eye evaporate, and reappear in front of Sakura. She blinked down at it, and noticed the slit pupil and clear blue eyes that not many people had. She looked down at Naruto, who had his hand up in a thumbs up. She rolled her eyes, then moved her right arm, showing her questions to the eye. Naruto copied them down.

He then looked around, and looked for a strong team. One from rain caught his third eye, so he sent it over there, and made the eye lose form above the genin, causing the water to splash down onto his pants. He jumped up, shocked at the coldness, and his team got kicked out. Naruto almost giggled, and leaned back, after turning his paper over, and looked to the ceiling, figuring it to be the one place he could look without being suspected of cheating, and his eyes widened.

'There-there are mirrors on the ceiling, and no one has noticed?!' He cried to himself. He praised Tenten for her sneakiness silently, then turned away, not wanting to lose points after he had already finished. Finding no place to look, with a huff, he rested against the table, and proceeded to go to sleep. Fifteen minutes later, Ibiki stood up, and got the genin's attention.

"Listen up, brats! It's time I give the tenth question!" He yelled, and Naruto got up slowly. He grinned, and stretched like a cat, making a few more teams get kicked out for super nose bleeds. Naruto gave Ibiki his full attention. "Okay for this next question, there is a new set of rules. You can choose whether on not to continue. You can give up now, or try to answer the question." he stopped, as many people started asking why they would quit. "SHUT UP! as I was saying, you can choose to quit. To answer your questions, it's because if you the tenth answer wrong..." He paused. "You will be stuck as a genin forever!" He said, and loads of genins panicked. He grinned, unaware that somewhere else, three teachers were talking about how evil he was. "I'll give you a while to decide if your going through with it." he said, and some hands went up, and teams exited the room. Naruto looked around, to see who was going to quit. He kept a close eye on the rookie nine, as he didn't want any of them to quit.

His eyes widened when he saw Hinata's hand rising up slowly, and she was looking away. Naruto looked at her in shock. She looked back apologetically. Naruto stood up, hand raised. This time it was the other genin's time to be shocked. "Are you giving up?" Ibiki asked, and Naruto stayed silent for a few seconds more, then spoke. "No, I have a question." He said. "How did you get the other village's approval for this? You don't have the authority to keep other village's genin from trying in the next chuunin exams, in six months. They wouldn't allow such power to be given to another village." He said, and the other genin looked at him in awe. Ibiki looked annoyed.

"Did I ever say that you could ask your question? No! Sit down before I decide to kick you out!" He yelled, and noticed that all the genin who were about to give in had their confidence back. Hinata lowered her hand, a small smile on her face. "Okay, for everyone who is still here... you all pass!" Ibiki yelled, and everyone faceplanted at the answer. They all started to ask questions all at once.

"What was the point of doing the other nine questions?" someone asked. Ibiki and Team Seven rolled their eyes.

"To see how well we could collect information, tard." Sasuke said, grinning down at the confused genin.

Temari jumped up. "what's the tenth question?" She asked.

Ibiki grinned, the scars on his face distorting disconcertingly. "There was no tenth question. Or, rather, me asking you all if you wanted to stay WAS the tenth question." He said, and a hand came up to brush his headband, worn in a way that covered his head. "Sometimes...you have to make choices..." He started to take it off. "...take risks, even if it means putting yourself or your teammates in danger, as long as the mission is complete." He finished, taking the bandana off with a swish. Everyone gasped at the drill holes, scars and more that were revealed. Naruto uncomfortably thought back to when the villagers used to chase and hurt him too. "That, genins, is the point." Ibiki said, and would have continued, but a ball of something crashed through the window.

Kunai shot out, unwrapping a giant poster that said 'Mitarashi Anko, Second exam instructor!' and a woman was revealed. Most of the girls looked dissaprovingly at her choice of clothes, or lack of which. Most of the guys drooled. Naruto made a side note of everyone who did so, to threaten them later on for leering at what he considered a sister. To his glee his saw Kiba gaping. "Hi maggots! I'm Mitarashi Anko, and I'm your next examiner for the chunnin exams!" she shouted, and many people who knew Naruto sweatdropped, realizing where he got his hyper attitude from. Ibiki placed a hand over his eyes.

"Anko, you are early. Man, you really don't know how to act toward certain atmospheres..." He mumbled. Anko shrugged, not really caring, and looked over at the group.

"Woah, a whole twenty-eight teams! You're losing your touch!" She crowed, making Ibiki scowl.

He looked away. "No, there are some good gennins, is all..." He muttered, annoyed. Anko rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, just so you know," she started, looking at the still seated gennins, "That when I'm done with you, there will be less than half of your number." She smirked, and led them off.


	8. Chapter 8

A short while later, Anko stopped in front of an ominous forest. "Ok brats, this is where we gonna be holing the next test. For five days, you will be staying in this wonderful forest behind me. It is affectionately referred to as The Forest of Death. Guess why?" She asked, then chuckled, as some gennins gulped.

"Each team is gonna get a scroll. You either get a heaven scroll, or an earth scroll, you have to make it to the building in the middle of the forest, in one peice, with BOTH scrolls, in five days." She explained, taking out two scrolls, one white, and the other dark blue. After letting the kids get a good look, she put them away, and took out a sheaf of papers. "Now you have to sign these forms." She said, handing them out. "They say that your family won't sue us if you die, and that it was your own fault for getting yourself killed."

She heard a chuckle, and turned. Her eyes brightened when she saw Naruto. "Naru-chan!" she cried, and hugged him.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but all he could get out was a "Nice to see-!" before Anko got close and suddenly started frenching him. His eyes widened, and Sakura almost choked on her giggles.

Sasuke started grinning. The other gennins looked on in excitement, with the exception of Kiba, who had no idea what to think. Anko's tongue started to make it's way into Naruto's mouth, and Naruto burst into action. He stepped forward, pushing into Anko, and started to dominate the kiss. His tougue wrapped around hers, and the kiss grew deep. For everyone around, they had a great view, as the tougue wrestling was mostly going on OUTSIDE of the mouths, for everyone to see. Many people started to hide their nosebleeds. Others were thrown back by the force of them.

Naruto felt Anko's hand making its way down to his skirt, and he moved back, breaking the kiss. He held a finger to Anko's lips. "Oh no, Anko-chan, not too far!" he said, and she stuck her tongue out at him. He placed his hands on his hips. "Anko-chan, how many times to I have to tell you to not randomly make out with people?" He said sternly.

Anko shrugged. "At least two more. Anyway, Kurenai-chan doesn't stop me!" she whined, and Team Eight almost fainted.

"What! Sensei does that?!" Hinata said shakily. Anko looked at her and grinned like a predator looking down at her prey.

"Ah, is this the Hina-hime I've been hearing so much about?" She purred, and Naruto, wrapped his arms around the small Hyuuga.

"No." He said, looking her in the eyes. Anko pouted.

"Aw, please! Just one kiss?" she asked, and Hinata blushed madly.

"No, no and NO! Anyway, if anyone's gonna be kissing Hinata it's gonna be me!" Naruto said glaring.

Anko sighed, then resumed her freaky as attitude. "What are you maggots staring at?! Get your forms signed!" She yelled, making everyone jump back. Naruto giggled, then turned to look for his teammates, who wondered off during the incident.

He saw them waving to him far off, and he started to walk toward them, on they way, he saw Kiba, and as he passed, Naruto shoved an elbow into the dog boy's stomach. As Kiba fell to the ground, Naruto smiled sweetly at him, them continued on his way. Kiba and Shino watched her go in shock, and turned to Hinata for some kind of explanation. She shrugged, looking down at the form.

"I think that was for leering at Anko earlier, Kiba-kun." She said. Shino stood back in understanding. Kiba, however, was very confused.

"What the hell is wrong with that guy? One moment he's hugging me, and then next he's elbowing me in the stomach!" He muttered under his breath. Naruto stopped in front of his teammates, who were still grinning.

"Had enough excitement and drama, Naru-chan?" Sakura teased. Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "Never." He said, and looked at the already signed form. "You guys didn't wait for me?"

He pouted. "Would you have really said that you didn't want to sign it?" Sasuke asked. They walked over to the booth, occupied by two men, whose job was to collect the signed forms, and give out the scrolls. When Naruto handed him the papers, they were given a soft 'good luck' and a Heaven scroll.

Team Seven walked over to their gate, and waited for the exam to start. Sakura was talking to Naruto about his action against Kiba.

"...you should apoligize to him, or something. What you did was kinda evil." She was saying, and Naruto groaned.

He threw his hands into the air. "Fine, Sakura-chan! You know what, you win!" With that, he preformed some handseals, and with a gust of mist, turned invisible. He walked off.

Ten minutes later, he reappeared next to Sasuke, and handed him an earth scroll. He looked down at it in shock, then smirked.

"Good job."

Naruto grinned. Sakura fumed. "Did you just forget to talk to Kiba? GAWD, I thought you said you would!" She was going to say more, but Naruto placed a finger on her lips, shushing her.

"I didn't talk to him, Sakura-chan, but I left something in his bag I'm sure he's going to appreciate..."

OVER WITH TEAM NINE...

Kiba knelt down on the ground, and placed a hand into his backpack. He was looking for his soldier pills, to make sure he hadn't forgotten them. The second he put his hand in, his eyes widened. He reached for the foreign item he had found, and with a shaky hand, pulled it out.

His gasp alerted his teammates who also gaped at the item in his hand. A heaven scroll was there, and Team Nine was sure they got an earth scroll from the guy at the stand. On the scroll, a small sticky note was stuck to it. Kiba held it up, and read it aloud.

"Dear Kiba-kun, I guess I am sorry for punishing you for leering at Anko-chan earlier. But I know you don't care about getting an apology, so I got you this scroll instead. Like it? Yeah well, don't lose it, or else I'll elbow you again! See you in the next part of the exams, love, Naruto."

Team nine stared in wonder at the gift they (or to be precise, Kiba) had been given...


	9. Chapter 9

Sakura grinned.

"Good job, Naruto!"

Sasuke pouted. "That's what I said!" Naruto was about to say something, but the speakers, placed all around the Forest of Death, burst into lfe.

"Okay, y'all! By now, you should all be at your gates! If you are not at your gates, well tough luck for you." Anko's voice sounded out, caused many genins to jump in fright. "When I say the word, the gates will open, and you will start you exam. The aim is to get the second scroll," Naruto and Kiba grinned, "and get to the building in the middle. Oh and watch out for the giant tigers..." She trailed off for a bit, then suddenly shouted "GO!"

The doors opened, all the teams rushed through, with the exception of the team who had the guy with the huge fear of tigers, who was currently holding on to the gate, with his teammates trying to get him of with a crowbar...

ANYWAY, BACK TO NARUTO'S TEAM...

"This looks like at good spot." Sasuke declared, as team seven landed in a small clearing, after a long day of running. He leaned back against a tree, and kept an eye on their surroundings as Sakura sat down for a breather.

Naruto looked around, then started toward a dense part of the forest nearby.

"Naru-chan, where are you of to?" Sakura asked, looking up at him in question. Naruto grabbed his ponytail with one hand, and pointed to the trees with the other.

"I just need to 'go to the bathroom' if you understand." He said, using his fingers to quote. Sakura looked at him sternly.

"Don't take too long, Naru-chan!" she called after him. He just replied with a,

"Yeah, yeah, Sakura-chan."

A few minutes later, there was a rustle from Naruto's direction, and Naruto shouted.

"TAKE THAT PERV!!" A loud whap sounded, and a random genin, who was wearing a tan jumpsuit, and mouthpeice (snicker) fell out of the sky right next to Sasuke.

Sasuke was about to take out a kunai, when Naruto walked into sight. "Stop, Sasuke-kun." He hissed, and Sasuke jumped away, fearing for his life, if the look on Naruto's face had any indication of what was to come. "He's. Mine!"

Naruto walked up to the genin, picking him up with one hand, showing extreme strength due to his pervert-induced rage. From pretending to be a girl, he had experienced first-hand why females hate all perverts with a passion. He would show no mercy.

Naruto took out a rope from who-knows-where, and started to tie the genin up. Sakura and Sasuke started to run away.

"OI! Where are you going, guys?" Naruto asked, watching them.

They stopped for a second, then answered. "We don't want to see this." They cried, and ran away, like cowards. Naruto sighed.

Groaning, the genin awoke from his super-punch-induced slumber. He looked around, and saw only the faded outline of trees. He tried to move, only to find he was tied to the tree behind him. "Hello, there." A voice hissed, filling the whole clearing. The genin froze, recognizing the person who spoke, and then started to struggle against the bonds that held him.

Naruto swept into sight, and put a hand around the genins neck. "Ooh, don't struggle, now. You'll damage my ropes." He purred. The genin recoiled away for Naruto's touch.

"W-what do you want with me?" He cried, and Naruto seemed to think for a second.

"Well, I wanted to punish you for being a pervert, but now you've given me so many good ideas of what to do!" Naruto smirked, and took out a kunai. The genin quailed.

Naruto's evil smile left his face. "What is your name, genin?" He barked, staring down at the poor guy.

"K-Koizumi Ryu." He answered. Nartuo absent-mindedly twirled the kunai around his index finger.

"Well, my little spring dragon, when you were shamelessly peeking on me-"

"I-I wasn't peeking! I was trying to get a scroll!" Ryu interupted, then cursed himself. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"So, instead of invading my privacy, you were trying to steal from me?" he asked, deadpanned.

Ryu shook his head, fearing for his life. "No-no, I s-swear-" he started, but never finished.

"Well that's okay then!" Naruto smiled. Ryu blinked. "But," Naruto started. "While you where accidently spying on me. Did you notice anything... out of the ordinary about me? About.." he held the kunai close to Ryu's neck, "my gender?" He prodded, and Ryu nodded, looking away.

"You're...you're a guy." He mumbled, and Naruto giggled.

"You won't be telling anyone about this discovery, will you?" He purred. Ryu shook his head. "Because, if you do, well, let's just say it won't be pretty." Ryu shook his head again, faster this time.

"I won't! I won't!" He cried. Naruto grinned, lifting his kunai above his head. Ryu's eyes widened, then closed, tightly, awaiting the pain of the kunai stabbing into him. Instead of pain, though, all he felt was a light breeze, and his bonds falling to the floor.

He looked at shock at the crossdresser, who had freed him. "There, unlike what my teammates thought, I won't be hurting you. But," He started to say, a finger making circles on Ryu's chest, making him gasp at the gentle touch. "Tell a soul, or try to steal from us again, and you won't survive my wrath." Naruto joked, then, with a smile, he blew a kiss toward the confused Koizumi, and left to catch up with his team.


	10. Chapter 10

Naruto looked left and right, wondering where the heck his teammates where. He jumped forward, using a huge burst of speed, leaving a team who had been previously stalking him way, way behind.

He felt a sense of foreboding.

'Kyuubi?' He asked mentally, and felt the giant beast of destruction inside him shift around.

'Yes, kit?' the nine tales asked.

Naruto looked around in unease. 'I sense something, but I can't really tell what it is. Can you check for me?' he asked.

'Yeah, sure. Move over.' the fox answered, taking control of Naruto's body, as easy as moving to the driving seat of a car. Blue eyes changed to red, and Naruto's body took an animalistic appearance. The ruby eyes scanned the area and Kyuubi's nose took in all the scents around him.

His eyes widened. 'KIT!'

'What?' Naruto's voice asked.

'I smell a giant snake!' With that, Kyuubi retreated into Naruto's mind like a wuss. Naruto jumped into the air, narrowly missing the near fatal strike of the just-mentioned snake. It crashed into a tree, hissing angrily.

'Kyuubi!' Naruto cried.

'Snake Man...Bad Things...Bad Things...' Kyuubi rambled, rocking back and forth, sucking his thumb.

Naruto threw a few kunai around the snake's eyes. 'Kyuubi, I thought you said you were over the snake incident!' Naruto, while mentally talking to kyuubi, didn't notice the snake opening it's mouth. A second later, he found himself in the belly of the beast...literally.

'Holy fudge!' He cried.

'SNAKES AR EVIL!!' Kyuubi was screaming.

'SHUT THE (hooplah) UP!' Naruto was screaming.

'yum!' The snake was thinking.

Naruto looked around, hands on his ears. "For the love of all that is holy, SHUT THE HELL UP!" He bellowed, making Kage Bunshin fill the snake, making it explode, and making the Kyuubi shut up.

Naruto stood up, squeezing the blood and guts out of his hair, and brushed it off his clothes. He blew out slowly. 'There we go..,'

'Kit...' Kyuubi said, shocked.

'Yeah?' Naruto asked, starting to run again. '...Are you sure you're not a girl? It's like you have PMS...'

'Heheh, I'm sure.'

Naruto headed toward another place that smelled of snake. Jumping down a branch, he gaped at what he saw. Sasuke and Sakura were shaking, and holding out their Heaven scroll to a strange snake man.

'THE SNAKE MAN!!' Kyuubi shrieked.

Naruto jumped forward, and grabbed the scroll before the snake man could get his hands on it. Sasuke looked up and growled.

"Naruto! He's way too strong for us!" He cried. Naruto put the scroll in one of his hidden pockets.

"Oh, and you think giving him the scroll is going to help us any? He'll just kill us after!" Naruto shouted. The snake man laughed.

"kukukuku... you have a smart friend, Sasuke-kun." The Snake man, who Naruto was pretty sure was Orochimaru, purred. Naruto looked between Orochimaru and Sasuke in shock.

'Did he-'

'Yes he did' Kyuubi said. 'He did say Sasuke-kun.'

Orochimaru was currently staring at Sasuke, his abnormally long tongue licking his lips.

'...ewww...' Nearly everyone in the vicinity thought. Orochimaru jumped forward, toward Sasuke.

"Oh no you don't!" Naruto cried, and raised his hands, preforming seals.

"Wind Style: Slashing technique!" He called, and moved his hands, clawing at Orochimaru's direction. A blade of wind shot toward the snake man, and he jumped out of the way, only to have to dodge again as another shot forward. Orochimaru continued playing around for a bit, but soon he tired of the genin's feeble attempts to hurt him. He jumped forward suddenly, appearing in front of Naruto, and kicked him to the other side of the tree.

Orochimaru started making seals, and placed his hand on the floor, after smearing a bit of his blood on his tattoo. A ginourmous snake appeared in front of Naruto. He swallowed, moving slowly, as to not make himself appear too much of a target to the snake.

The serpent looked at it's master for a moment, then nodded, as if receiving a non-existant command. It returned it's gaze to Naruto, and shot forward.

Naruto cursed; this snake was much bigger and faster than the one he had encountered earlier, and he had trouble missing it's strikes. He heard Sakura scream something, and turned quickly to see Sakura and Sasuke both working against the snake sannin. He grinned, but the grin soon disappeared, when the snake's tail came for him from the right. He jumped, to miss the strike, but the snake, who was obviously smarter than the other one too, swung his tail up to meet him.

"AHH!" he cried, as his back violently met the bottom of a tree branch. Everything seemed to slow down. He heard Sakura screaming his name as she punched the snake in the face with all her might, making it disappear, Sasuke gasping as he saw Naruto in the air, and Orochimaru's laughter.

**NOW BECAUSE I LIKE YOU GUYS SO MUCH,** **HERE YOU GO!**

**(a convo between me and my friend, who may be reading this fic at this exact moment. I am Gunslinger Girl.)**

**DONUT QUEEN says:**

_cough_

Gunslinger Girl says:

OHNO SHES DYING

Gunslinger Girl says:

(gets phone out)

DONUT QUEEN says:

Gunslinger Girl says:

ummmm...nine, then...uh...nine...then um...

Gunslinger Girl says:

er...

Gunslinger Girl says:

TWO1

DONUT QUEEN says:

_TWO1 lol_

Gunslinger Girl says:

'Hello? i have a friend whos dying!!1!! Help her please!'

Gunslinger Girl says:

'...uh huh...car insurance?'

Gunslinger Girl says:

'why the feck would i want car insurance? I dont even have a car!

Gunslinger Girl says:

...

Gunslinger Girl says:

'what I DO have is a dying friend, so get the feck over here now!'

Gunslinger Girl says:

'What? Huh? Slow down, it's like your speaking another language!'

Gunslinger Girl says:

'Tak? Oh... you ARE speaking another language...'

Gunslinger Girl says:

'cough'

Gunslinger Girl says:

(hangs up quickly)

Gunslinger Girl says:

(turns to you, who is currently dying)

Gunslinger Girl says:

'well, you're screwed. Don't look at me like that, I tried!'

DONUT QUEEN says:

...

Gunslinger Girl says:

'if you're gonna act that way, then fine! get angry at me for caring, why don't you!'

Gunslinger Girl says:

(huffs, then leaves room)


	11. Chapter 11

Naruto gasped, looking around, only to find that he was in his own mind. Kyuubi ran toward him, the bars of his cage bending to give him a way out. The fox demon collapsed next to the genin.

'KIT! Are you okay?!' he asked. Naruto scoffed, getting up from the wet ground.

'I'm just peachy. I'm tired, wet, pissed off, and not to mention nearing death!' Naruto answered all too sarcastically. Kyuubi chuckled humourlessly.

'Yeah, well, about that, how about I pump you full of my chakra, so you can get that snake-pedophile?' he asked, but it sounded more like pleading than an offer. Naruto looked to the right, to see a giant screen, showing the last few seconds of his consciousness.

'Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan are in danger. I have to help them.' He said, and Kyuubi nodded. A tendril of red energy floated in front of the boy, and shot forward, into Naruto's chest.

--

'Naruto!' Sakura screamed, looking through the slowly fading smoke of the summon, her eyes focused on her teammate. Naruto had hit the tree with such force, she wasn't sure if he was even conscious now. Naruto had always been the stamina freak,and could get hit by one of Sakura's chakra enhanced blows, but a hit like that could put him out like a light.

As Naruto's body started to fall away from the giant branch, and wave of power washed over those present. Sakura closed her eyes briefly, letting it surround her, to try and recognize it. It wasn't the slippery feel of the snake man's chakra, nor was it the calm-yet-cold chakra that Sasuke possessed. It definitely wasn't her breezy chakra, nor Naruto's swirling chakra. It was similar to his, though if it was tangible, it would not be the warm and inviting, but aggressive and protective.

_Flashback (ohnoes!)_

"Um, guys?" Naruto's hesitant voice interrupted Sasuke and Sakura's sushi-fest. (ichiraku does not just sell ramen I hope) They looked up from their plates, to see Naruto staring down at it ramen, which he hadn't yet touched. Sakura nudged Naruto's shoulder, to see him flinch.

"What is it, Naru-chan?" She asked. Naruto looked up, and the two were surprised to see fear in his eyes.

"Guys, you know I'd said earlier that I would lift my mask and stop telling lies." He paused, to see Sakura nod, and Sasuke's eyes narrow.

"Are you going to go back on your promise?" Sasuke asked, looking calm, but anger was clearly seen in his eyes. Naruto's back straightened, and he shook his head quickly.

"NO! I'm just- **sigh. **There's something about me you should know, but it's something that most likely will make you change your view of me..." He trailed off. Sakura looked around, keeping a close eye on everyone around.

"Is it why they are glaring at you so much? They look as if they want to kill you!" She whispered. Naruto too looked around.

"You guys are with me, so they won't do anything rash." He said, in an attempt to calm the girl down, but only made Sakura and Sasuke worried.

"Are you saying that they WILL do something rash once we leave?" Sasuke's voice rang out.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Yeah-I mean, No! It- its not important!" He said. Sasuke looked at him seriously.

"If they are trying to hurt you, it is important." he stated. Naruto sighed.

"I think you might find that what I will tell you may make their actions justifiable..." he said, then took in a breath, ignoring his teamates arguing.

"Look...you know the story of the Kyuubi, how it attacked the village twelve years ago?" he started off, shakily. Sakura and Sasuke shared a glance.

"Er, well yeah, and then Yondaime killed it at the cost of his own life-" Sakura started to stay, but Naruto stopped her.

"That didn't happen." Naruto interrupted. "That was what the adults told you to cover it up." At the others confused looks, Naruto explained.

"No-one can kill a demon, except another demon. No, the Yondaime had to seal the Kyuubi away. He couldn't seal it in an item, it was too strong for that, and so he had to seal it in a human, a baby, because being sealed in an adult would destroy the person's chakra paths. Only a baby would do." Naruto looked away.

"The baby had to be born on the exact day of the sealing. Sakura, what day is my birthday?" He asked, and Sakura hesitated, a little shocked that Naruto didn't call her Sakura-chan, and Sasuke answered, his eyes widened.

"October the tenth. The same day that Kyuubi attacked." He whispered, and Naruto's shoulders sagged.

"Do you get it now?" He asked, chopsticks tapping nervously against the ramen bowl.

"We get it." The two said, almost simultaneously. Naruto flinched again.

Sasuke leaned forward.

"You said earlier that the villagers actions were justifiable, and what you said would make us realize that," He started, "Then why do I still think they all deserve a punch to the face?" he chuckled at Naruto's dumbfounded look.

Sakura giggled, but then her face turned serious.

"You can't seriously think we'd be so dumb as to think that?" She asked. "I find it obvious that you aren't the Kyuubi. If you seal a kunai in a scroll, does that make the scroll a kunai?" She then put a finger to her nose in thought.

"This does explain a lot though... you said earlier that you had a bloodline 'of sorts' that made you more animalistic. Courtesy of Kyuubi, correct?" She asked.

Naruto mumbled something. Sakura also leaned forward. "What was that, Naru-chan?" She asked, and Naruto turned his head to her slightly, showing tears on his cheeks and a small smile on his face.

"I said, you weren't the smartest kunoichi of our year for nothing, Sakura-chan." He said softly. Sasuke looked thoughtful.

"So, when we were fighting Haku, and I got hit by those senbon, that aggressive chakra was the Kyuubi's?" he asked, Sakura listening carefully. She was never told what happened in those mirrors.

Naruto nodded, solemn for a short while, then brightened.

"Old man, can I have another Ramen? This one's cold!"

_END FLASHBACK (yays)_

Sakura sighed relieved. She was sure that now, with the Kyuubi's help, Team seven was gonna kick ass.


	12. Chapter 12

Naruto's eyes opened, and he smirked.

'Thanks, Kyu-chan.' He whispered, and turned around in mid-air, facing Orochimaru. He fell down to earth, or more accurately, to the snake man, with his fist aimed toward that guy's face.

It connected, and he sent the pedophile flying. He landed neatly on a branch nearby though, to Naruto's disappointment. The genin wanted to see the guy's face in the ground.

Orochimaru looked up, panting. He made some more seals, and another huge snake appeared. Naruto would have rolled his eyes, if he didn't have to pay the battle his utmost attention.

'Does he think that will keep working? Especially since he's done it twice and those summons must take up a lot of chakra.' Naruto wondered. Kyuubi shrugged.

Naruto jumped down, to destroy the snake, only to stop when Sasuke did. He waved to his team mates, growling a little at having his prey killed, but accepting it all the same. He looked back up at Orochimaru, and his eyes widened as he saw Sakura fighting against him.

Sakura aimed at punch at the sannin, and Orochimaru dodged. Her fist hit the trunk of the tree they were standing on, and the branch fell apart. The two jumped to different trees, at the same level. Orochimaru watched her, a glint of recognition in his eyes.

"kukukuku...you are so similar to my former team mate, Tsunade." He said, almost looking as if he were reminiscing. Sakura's eyes narrowed. She saw Sasuke and Naruto moving stealthily toward them.

"Why is that, Orochimaru?" She said, cautiously. Orochimaru seat a snake forward, teeth bared. Sakura dodged, but the creature's fangs _just _broke her skin.

"You both have incredible chakra control, have fierce tempers, and use super strength as your weapon." He answered, apparently not noticing the genins' approach. "Also you both are awful bitches to kill." Sakura smirked.

"I think I'm offended." She said, and at that moment, Sasuke and Naruto jumped out, Sasuke spewing(snicker) fireballs. Orochimaru acted quickly and efficiently. He spun out of the way, kicking Sasuke into a tree, and his tongue wrapped around Naruto's stomach.

Naruto shivered under the intense gaze of the snake man. Orochimaru studied him.

"So you are the Kyuubi brat. I'll have to nip this annoying _weed_ in the bud." With that, he ripped the part of Naruto's dress that hid his stomach. His hand started to glow with a strange sealing power, and brought it to Naruto's seal.

"Sealing Technique: Five Stars!" Orochimaru cried, and Naruto's seal hurt so much, the world around him seemed fuzzy. His eyes started to close, and with a strange sense of deja vu, he fell.

Sakura's eyes widened as she saw Naruto falling again. Her eyes flickered over to the sannin. If Naruto and Kyuubi combined couldn't really do anything, then Orochimaru was even stronger than she had thought. She threw a kunai, and pinned the cross-dresser to a tree.

Sasuke saw Naruto's dilemma, but stopped himself from calling out his name. Sasuke's fist tightened. 'This Orochimaru guy is after me, for some reason, and my team mates are in danger because of this, damn it, though I know I can't bring any more attention to myself, lest he goes after me, to do whatever sick things he has in mind- ack!' His train of thought was interrupted when the same snake man he was talking about grabbed him by the arm, and spun him around to face the sannin. Sasuke gasped, and Orochimaru bit him on the neck. If he had been in any other situation, Sasuke would have told the guy that he was straight, but this didn't seem like a good idea.

Sakura ran forward, keeping a close eye on what Orochimaru was doing. It looked like he was administering some kind of poison into Sasuke's body, but she wasn't sure. She brought back a fist, and, since Orochimaru was pretty, er, preoccupied, she drove it into his head, forcefully disconnecting him from her team mate. He looked shocked for a moment, but then smirked as he jumped away.

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke, look at me, what did he do?!" She asked, anxiously, but Sasuke looked down at Naruto with hazy eyes.

"My...fault..." He mumbled, as he fell unconscious. Sakura sighed. She looked around. It wasn't safe here. She heaved Sasuke onto her shoulder, and jumped down to Naruto, who she put on top of Sasuke, since the fox boy was lighter, and went to find somewhere safe.

A few minutes later she did. It was a somewhat shaded clearing, with a hollow tree near the edge, which would serve as a hiding place. She carefully put her team mates out, and set some traps and genjutsu. Once she was pretty sure that no annoying genins would be knocking of their door- err, tree, she turned back to her team mates, to see what their injuries were.

Naruto looked unharmed, seeing as the Kyuubi's chakra earlier had healed any wounds he had, but Sakura knew that whatever Orochimaru had done had altered the seal somehow. Her fingers brushed his seal lightly, and he bristled slightly, as if uncomfortable. She sighed. She then turned to Sasuke.

His condition looked worse. He was moaning in pain, and he had a fever. Sakura had never more than at this point wished that she knew medic jutsu, but such things were never taught to genin. Her hand wandered to her pack, and took out a scroll. On the cover, the words 'Medical Training for Rookies' were printed. She smirked slightly. She had got Naruto to nick this for her when he was with the Hokage, for a small 'chat'. She hoped whatever was in this scroll would work. She skimmed over it quickly, while keeping and eye on the area around her and on her team mates. She came to a part that interested her.

_**Curse Seals**_ _**Some seals are not holy. They are frowned upon by most, because not only of their side effects, such as hallucinating, extreme pain, and heavy fevers,** _here Sakura glanced at Sasuke. _**But also for the dire consequences there are in getting them wrong. If you think someone you know has been cursed with a such seal, try to ease the pressure by slowly adding chakra to the wound.**_

Sakura stopped reading, and moved over to Sasuke. Her heart beating fast, she put her hands on the strange mark on his neck. She slowly added chakra, and was glad to see Sasuke's frown disappear, and his body relax. She wondered what was going on in his head. "I hope this helps, Sasuke-kun."

**IN SASUKE'S HEAD**

"Come on, Sasuke-kun, give in to me. Don't you want the power to kill your brother?" An image of Orochimaru asked, walking toward Sasuke. He stepped back.

"I don't need you to get power, and it isn't as if you could just give it to me!" Sasuke yelled, but a snake made of purple chakra coiled around his arm. He tried to pull it back, but the snake hissed, and tightened its grip. Orochimaru stepped forward. And stroked Sasuke's cheek.

"Get away from me you freak! Only Naruto-chan can touch me like that!" He yelled, but then blinked. "Wait, what?" He asked himself. (ZOMG, IS HE REALLY STRAIGHT??1!!) Orochimaru blinked too, but then shook his head.

"I'm just a tiny part of the real Orochimaru. I'm what will make you strong, if you let me..." He said, placing another hand on the boy. He was about to cover Sasuke in snakes (ewwwww),but Sasuke felt a huge power rush, and Sakura's voice in his ear.

"_I hope this helps, Sasuke-kun..._" Sasuke smiled. He'll have to thank Sakura later. He glared at the intruder in his mind. He started to form seals. Orochimaru's soul fragment's eyes widened, and tried to stop the Uchiha. He didn't make it in time.

"Water Style: Water Prison!" Sasuke cried, and water from the puddles on the ground rose, and caught the soul fragment. Sasuke smirked, as the Orochimaru tried to escape. Sasuke waited. And waited, and slowly, Orochimaru's air supply ran out, and the part of Orochimaru slowly died.

Sasuke smirked. Apparently, he had the power the Orochimaru promised anyway. This would be quite useful.


	13. Chapter 13

Sakura looked around, slowly, then her eyes strolled down to the scroll still in her hand. She opened it, again, but she only got to read a bit about how to make chakra scalpels, when her eyes caught a squirrel running toward her. She looked around; her light genjutsus were still in place, so- she looked closer at the squirrel to see that it had an exploding note on its back. She threw a kunai in front of it, to scare it off.

"Hmm, very good. But these genjutsus are so annoying. I'll have to get rid of them." A girl's voice said, and a moment later, the genjutsus disappeared. Sakura's eyes widened, as a team from Sound showed themselves. The guy with the bandaged face, and furry _thing _on his back stepped forward.

"Onna, wake Uchiha Sasuke up and we won't hurt you. We need to kill him." He said, and Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"On a cold day in hell, genin!" She shouted, and tried to get up, but suddenly, a sharp pain in her arm stopped her. She looked at the small bit mark, and cursed. She had been so worried about her team mates, that she had completely forgot about her own injuries. The Sound team laughed.

"Look, Kin, Dosu, she can't even fight! She's been poisoned." The second guy crowed. The one named Dosu growled.

"Don't get cocky, Zaku. She may be acting." He said, and Sakura tiredly cut a string next to her, setting of a trap. The Sound team easily evaded the attack.

"Is that why she shot at that squirrel? Did she see the trap, or did she not want her own set off? Pathetic, either way." Kin snorted, and Zaku nodded in agreement.

"Just wake him up, onna. That's all we ask." Dosu said, attempting to sound less threatening. Sakura was about to get up, to go banshee on their asses, but someone green jumped down in front of her.

"Lee-kun?!" She cried, and Rock Lee turned to give her a wink.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. I'll protect you with my life!" He said, and jumped into the fray. Sakura almost sweatdropped.

"No, it's okay, I'm fine..." She mumbled, feeling annoyingly useless. She watched Lee fight against the Sound Team, quite impressed by his Taijutsu prowess. She felt another stab of pain from her arm. She cursed her luck. She knew she couldn't die from this, seeing as she was technically already dead, but the pain was so, to quote Shikamaru, _troublesome_. She wouldhave to wait until the poison was sent around her body, back to the still bleeding cut on her arm.

Lee had just used some kind of Taijutsu move, tying himself to Dosu, and crashing into the ground. Sakura gasped, and when the dust cleared, it looked like Zaku had somehow broke Dosu's fall. Lee stumbled backward.

"Lee-kun, was that supposed to happen?" Sakura asked, peeved. Lee sweatdropped.

"Ah, actually, no, Sakura-chan." He managed to say before he fainted.

"Great..." Sakura said sarcastically. "That was useful." The Sound team turned their attention back to the pink haired girl.

"You talk a lot for someone who can't move much, onna!" Zaku said. Sakura was about to punch the floor in anger, but again was interrupted, when Team Nine stepped forward.

"Ahh! Ino, Shika! What are you doing? Let's leave while we can!" Chouji was saying. Shikamaru sighed.

"No can do, Chou, Ino's gotta do this." He said, acting as if this was the last thing he had wanted to do, but he stood up tall and alert, ready for action. Sakura turned to Ino.

"Do what, Ino? Don't tell me you're gonna do something stupid..." Sakura started to say, but at that moment, Shikamaru used his shadow to trap Kin, and Ino took over her body.

A few pathetic moments later, Ino had been forced to return to her body, and Team Nine was losing. Zaku held up his hands, aiming at the three.

"Are all Leaf nins this weak? Die, scum!" He was saying, but Sakura started to feel her strength return to her body, as black, tainted blood oozed out of her arm.

She smirked, and dark energy surrounded her, and in front of everyone, she changed into and ethereal undead beauty. Her hair grew much longer, and it weaved all over the clearing. She floated in the air slightly. She now wore her bloodstained dress.

"Yes, now that the poison has left my body, I'm able to move again!" She said, her voice echoing through the clearing. The sound team stared at her in shock.

"What the hell? You were poisoned, you should've died from that!" Kin cried. Sakura winked.

"Even if Orochimaru's poison is strong," She stared to say, noting the Sound Team's reaction of surprise at the mention of the Sannin, "tell me, how can you kill that which is already dead?" She asked, and disappeared when Zaku shot an air blast at her. Dust filed the area.

"Ha! I got her!" Zaku yelled out in triumph.

"Got who?" A voice rang out from behind him. The dust cleared, and everyone saw Sakura there, claws held threateningly above him. She smirked, and brought them down, sliding through the skin, without breaking it, but turning it grey. When they went all the way through, Zaku took a shuddery gasp, and fainted. Sakura swirled in the air, vanishing, only to reappear near Team Nine, who jumped back, shocked. She smiled at them, then turned back to the Sound.

Dosu stepped back, dragging Kin with him.

"She's too strong. We should leave now!" He said, picking Zaku up, and turning to go.

"Give us your scroll first!" A new voice demanded, and Koisumi Ryu and his team jumped into sight. Kin groaned.

"Not only Leaf ninjas, but Rain too!? GAWD, Dosu, just give him the scroll!" Dou nodded, and, kneeling down, he placed his scroll on the floor, and the Sound team ran off. Ryu knelt down, picking it up, and smirked.

"There we go, guys-" He started to say, but his eyes fell onto Naruto's unconscious form. He then turned to Sakura. "What happened to Naruto?!" He asked, caring for some reason. Sakura looked closer at him, changing back into her human form.

"Hey! You're that guy that we left for Naruto to deal with! How are you still alive, and why do you care?!" She asked, cautious. Ryu's team mates looked at him in curiosity too. Ryu rubbed the back of his neck.

"There was a...misunderstanding. Once I told Naruto the truth, h-_she_" He corrected himself, causing Sakura to look at him in question. "let me go. I guess I care 'cuz she could have easily killed me, but she didn't. She's interesting." He said, looking truly confused, or, as confused as one could look when he has more than half of his face covered.

Sakura looked at him intently, then relaxed. "I guess Naruto had a reason to not hurt you. Fine then." She said, then slowly walked back to her team mates. The other two team walked up with her.

"Wake up, guys. Come on, don't be lazy. Wake up!"


	14. Chapter 14

Naruto shifted slightly, moaning in pain. He opened his eyes, looking slowly at everyone who was staring down at him.

"Naruto? Naru-chan, are you okay? What did Orochimaru do to you?" Sakura asked, Naruto used his arms to push him up, and he felt someone hold him up.

"I can't talk to the voice in my head anymore..." He mumbled, and everyone looked at him in panic.

"Oh noes, Naruto's brain is screwed up!" Ino said. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Leave him alone. Naru-chan,why can't you talk to him anymore?" She asked, gently. The others looked at her with exasperation.

"You're going along with it?!" Shikamaru asked. "Troublesome..."

Naruto smiled slightly. "Orochimaru used a seal. In my mind, where he usually is, all I see is a wall." Naruto shifted, slowly, still weak. "Who's holding me? And who are you?" He asked, pointing at the two Rain nins. Naruto felt himself being turned around, and he saw Koizumi Ryu.

"I am." He said, looking down at Naruto in concern. "How are you doing?" Naruto grinned, still dazed, and shakily brought his hand up to Ryu's mouthpiece. He slowly removed it.

Ryu looked down in confusion. Naruto then took off Ryu's forehead protector, letting his hair fall around is face. Naruto then smiled.

"You...you look better like this." He gently tied the forehead protector around Ryu's neck. Ryu was staring at him, mouth open, and a small blush on his face. Naruto giggled.

Everyone else, who had been staring at the two in shock, all turned when they heard Sasuke stir.

"Sasuke-kun! What happened!" Ino started to ask, helping him up. Sasuke's eyes opened, showing his activated Sharingan. A strange purple energy swirled around him, and tomoe shaped marks coloured his skin. He slowly got up. Sakura held up a kunai.

"Sasuke? Sasuke, are you in control?" She asked, staring at the changed Uchiha. He turned to her.

"Yes, thanks to you, Sakura-chan." He said, then looked around. "What the hell happened here?" He asked, eyeing everyone present with a suspicious stare, especially Ryu, who was still holding onto Naruto.

Sakura stretched. "A Sound team wanted to kill you. Lee tried to stop them, but lost, and these guys," She gestured towards Team Nine. "also lost against them. Then I made that Zaku guy faint, so they left." She grinned. Sasuke gave her an 'um, okay' look and, turned to Naruto.

"Naruto-chan, is there any reason you are practically hanging off of that guy?" He said, feigning calm. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I'm not hanging off of him!" He protested. He then turned around to Ryu. He put one leg on either side on the Rain nin, sitting in his lap. Naruto then held on to Ryu's shirt.

Sasuke glared. Naruto smirked. "NOW I'm hanging off of him." Ryu's team mates didn't know what to say about the situation, so they decided to introduce themselves.

"Um, hello, Naruto was it?" The one with both eyes covered asked. Naruto blinked, then looked over at them.

"Yes...and who are you?" He asked, looking at Ryu's team mates. The one who had spoken earlier stepped forward.

"I'm Kawaguchi Toru, and the quiet one next to me is Kano Kioshi. We're Ryu's team mates. We're actually quite curious about who you are, too. More importantly, what your relation to Ryu is." He asked, an eyebrow raised.

Naruto and Ryu blushed. "We just met in the forest!" Ryu said, hands waving around. Naruto looked to the left. He glowered.

"Oh great. It's you." He snarled, and everyone looked to see Neji and Tenten standing there, near the edge of the clearing. Neji didn't even look at them, just picking Lee up. Naruto started to get up, wincing as he moved his stomach. Shikamaru looked on in curiosity.

"Hey Naruto? What's that on your stomach? It looks like a giant tattoo..." He said, and Neji's head tilted to the side, listening.

Naruto looked at his team mates for a second, then sighed. He removed and material still covering the seal, so it was all visible.

"It's a seal." He said, and Neji looked up suddenly. "That's not possible!" He whispered.

Naruto looked at him in confusion. "What...what do you mean?" He asked, as Neji stalked toward him, looking at his seal.

"Naru-chan, what did Orochimaru do to the seal?" Sakura asked, looking Naruto over. Naruto placed a hand on the seal.

"I don't know. He made a seal of his own and put it on mine here." He pointed at the new markings. "It hurts..." he suddenly whimpered, falling to the floor. Sakura knelt down to him, sending some of her chakra into his seal. The pain lessened.

Naruto looked up at her gratefully. "Thank you, Sakura-chan." He said, and Sakura smiled at him. Kioshi looked at the seal silently. He looked up at Toru.

"What does the seal do?" Toru asked for his team mate. Sasuke stepped forward, in front of Naruto, hiding his seal from view.

"Nothing to do with you." He said, and Team Seven got up, and ready to go. "We're going. Bye." He said shortly, and the three jumped off, leaving a bemused Rain team, and shocked Team Nine, an unconscious Lee, a confused Tenten, and a surprised Neji behind.

Naruto looked at Sasuke in confusion. He placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, making Sasuke tense slightly.

"Sasu-kun, what's wrong?" He asked. Sasuke looked over at Naruto, then turned away quickly.

"I'm fine, what makes you think I'm not?" He asked, grumpily. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Well, for one, you aren't looking at me, and the last you did that was when you accidentally walked in on me when I was in the shower." Sasuke blushed. "And two, you were glaring pretty hard at Ryu, for someone you had never met..." He looked at Sasuke pointedly, then jumped ahead. Sakura followed the blonde.

Sasuke looked down at the ground whizzing under his feet.

'Why am I acting like this? I've never been irritated when Naruto flirted shamelessly with any other guys, why am I irritated now? What is it about Ryu that just...annoys me?' Sasuke shook his head, following his team.

**AN: Well, this was tiring. I HAD NO INSPIRATION!!1!! sigh. ANYWAY, this is the first AN eva (in my story!!) Sorry for taking so long. If you have any ideas for the story, just leave a review. Everyone who has already given me a review gets a cyber-dollar!!**


	15. Chapter 15

About an hour later, they made it to the building, and, after a moment spent to catch their breath, they stepped inside.

Sasuke looked around. Inside, in the main room, it looked like a sort of battle arena. There were steps on either side, leading up to two balconies. On either side there were two doors, and above a statue of two hands in a seal, there was a message.

"Hold on." Sakura said. "There's a word missing." She pointed up. Naruto looked around, and saw a door to a bathroom. He grinned, and, telling his teammates where he was going, ran to it.

Sasuke studied the scrolls they had. "Maybe...maybe we have to open the scrolls now." He guessed, throwing one the Sakura. At the count of three, they opened them up, and the scrolls started to smoke disconcertingly. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Drop them!" She cried, and threw them away from the two. In a burst of smoke, a humanoid shadow could be seen. The gennin took out their weapons, and prepared for battle, until they saw who it was.

"Iruka-sensei, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, and Iruka, like so many before him, stared.

Sasuke twitched. "Yes, I know I'm different, and yes, I was an ass back then. Can you stop staring at me?" He asked, annoyed. Then he blinked, and looked around. Iruka looked on in confusion.

"What's up, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. Sasuke shrugged. "Nothing much, it's just Naru-chan usually interrupts here with a witty comment." He said, and Iruka looked around. He was about to inquire as to Naruto's whereabouts, when Naruto's voice rang out.

"Aw Sasu-kun, I didn't know that you longed to hear my voice so!" Naruto cooed, hugging Sasuke from behind, reveling in the taller boy's blush. Iruka gaped, Sakura whistled appreciatively, and Sasuke blushed some more when the three laid eyes on his new look.

Naruto now wore a type of short kimono. It was a turquoise colour, and had a big dark blue sash around the middle. It ended where his old skirt ended, and the sleeves were very long, reaching down to Naruto's knees. Under he wore his old shorts. (His hair was done up in a way similar to Hone Onna from Hell Girl)

Naruto blushed at the attention he was getting. He looked down, in a sudden bout of insecurity, at his feet, which now wore his old ninja sandals. "Th-the old clothes were ripped up badly, and I had these in my bag." He looked up, a pout on his lips. "Do you not like them?!" He cried, when he saw the shocked looks coming from the males. "I'll go back and change, if you hate them-" He started to say, but Sakura and Sasuke stopped him.

"NO!" They said together. Naruto blinked. He was sure Iruka had also cried out in an effort to stop him. Weird.

"They suit you, Naruto." Sasuke mumbled, looking away. Naruto 'aww'ed. Iruka stared at Naruto's clothes some more, then focused on the two boys hugging (well, Naruto hugging Sasuke)in front of him. He reddened, slighty.

"Are...are you two...well..." He started, and Sasuke started shaking his head. But to the black haired boy's horror, Naruto played dumb.

"What?" Naruto blinked his big blue eyes. "are _Sasu-kun _and I what?" he asked. Iruka stumbled over his words for a few more seconds. A poof sounded from behind the red-faced teacher, and Kakashi stepped into sight.

"Naruto, stop being evil. I believe he is inquiring as to if the two of you are _romantically involved." _He supplied, and Iruka nodded, furiously(quickly, not angrily).

"Ah, um, no, we're not-" Sasuke started to say, blood rushing to his head, but Naruto interrupted.

"Us? Sasu-kun an I, together? Hmmm..." He trailed off, seemingly thinking. He rested his head on Sasuke's shoulder. "What a purrrrrrrfect idea..." He purred. "What do you think, Sasu-kun?" Sasuke's throat went dry.

He tried to speak, but all he could get out of his throat were rasping noises. Sakura giggled. (She seems to be doing an awful lot of giggling lately, huh?) "Naru-chan, leave him alone before he runs out of oxygen and passes out." She made Naruto get off of the poor boy. She turned to the teachers. "Speaking of passing out, Naru-chan and Sasuke-kun both got seals cast on them by Orochimaru, and I've been fighting hard, too. Where can we sleep?" She said, matter-of-factly, and the teacher's eyes widened. Kakashi pointed slowly to the left.

Iruka ran over to Naruto, looking him over. "Oh my gosh, Naruto! Are you okay? What happened?" He asked.

Naruto smiled, to calm the older ninja down. "We got attacked by Orochimaru-" He started to say.

"You mean I got attacked by Orochimaru, and got you in danger too." Sasuke said, coldly, all traces of a blush gone. He looked down in self-loathing. Everyone looked at him in question.

"Wh-what are you talking about, Sasu-ku-" Naruto asked.

"-He was after me!" Sasuke growled. "And you two got hurt! It was my fault!" Sasuke stormed off, to the left, through the doorway, toward the rooms. Naruto made to run after him, but Kakashi stopped him.

"He could be affected by whatever seal was placed on him. You need to tell us what hap-" Sakura stepped forward.

"Sasuke overcome the cursed seal placed on him, and, since I was concious the whole time, it would be more logical if I told you what happened, wouldn't it?" She said. The teachers looked at Naruto, torn, and slowly shrugged.

Naruto ran off. Through the doorway, he came to a corridor, with doors on either side. He opened the first one, to see an empty room. He slammed the door, and went to the next, only to find another empty room. After a few more empty rooms, he started to grow frantic. And pissed off.

He came to the next door, panting slightly, and opened it. It was what seemed to be a large recreational room, with a television, and couches. He looked around. This room wasn't empty, but the people inside weren't who he was looking for. He stared in. The Sand siblings stared back. They just looked at eachother for a second, and then, with a quick, "Excuse me!" Naruto closed the door.

-

Temari shared a glance with Kankuro, who was still staring at the door.

"What was that about? And how did that guy get here so fast, it's only one day into the exam!" She asked, shocked. She waited, and when she got no answer, punched her brother on the shoulder. He looked at her in annoyance.

"Ow! What the fuck was that for?" He growled. Temari looked at him sternly.

"You were so busy pining after the cross-dresser, you didn't hear me!" She accused.

"I was not!"

"Was too!"

"It's not my fault that those new clothes of his show of his nice body-!" He said, before his eyes widened, and he closed his mouth. Temari grinned in victory, and was about to speak, when-

"Quiet." Gaara said coldly, and the two shut up. Gaara's eyes were still on the door Naruto has just used. He walked to the door, opening it, and walked out. Kankuro nudged Temari.

"You think he's after that Naruto?" He asked.

"Are you really going to go save the blonde if he is?"

"Are you crazy?!"

-

Naruto opened the LAST. FRIKKEN. DOOR, and looked inside, to sigh in relief when he saw his teammate looking out the window.

"Sasuke?" He asked, dropping the suffix at the end of his name. Sasuke moved his head slightly, acknologing Naruto's presence. Naruto walked into the room, with was a bedroom for three, a team room (get your minds outta the gutter), and sat next to Sasuke on the bed closest to the window.

"Sasuke, you don't even need to talk right now, so shut up and listen. What happened back then was not your fault, it was Orochimaru's." He said.

Sasuke sighed. "You two got hurt by him because he was after me."

"Don't go there. We got hurt because we wanted to protect you. I'm a big boy. Sakura's a big girl. We can make our own decisions. Anyway, Sakura's fine now, and I don't have a scratch on me." Naruto tried to comfort him.

"Because of me you can't talk to Kyuubi anymore." Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto scoffed. "It won't take long to undo what that snake pedo did! Anyway, a little quiet time is just what Kyu-kun needs!" He giggled, placing a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "It's not your fault, and we don't blame you. Okay?"

Sasuke smiled softly. "Okay." Naruto grinned.

"Surprise hug attack of doom!" He cried, and wrapped his arms around Sasuke.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Nooooo, my only weakness..." He mumbled. Neither of them noticed a floating eye made of sand watching them.

**AN: I am really sorry for taking so long! It wasn't that I had writer's block or anything, it was just that I had to go to Green Camp. It sucked, and I won't bore you with my problems. Anyway, the day before I had to go was spent furiously typing, in a feeble attempt to finish the chapter before I left.** **I failed. Spectacularly.** **Cyber-cookies to everyone as a way of apologizing. **


	16. badexcusessorry

Sorry guys-

Sorry guys-

I'm on holiday. Which means that my access to computers is zilch (I shouldn't be on the computer right now) All my work on the story (including the fights in the Exams) is at home. I don't get back home till in about three weeks, and then soon I have to move.

…

WTF!!1?? I wasn't told about this!!

Sorry guys, and thanks for the reviews (they keep me happy).

PS: Australia is really kewl. Yays.


	17. Chapter 16

Naruto and Sasuke walked out of the room, this time taking in their surroundings.

"...and the 'living room' is the seventh room on the left. God, there are so many rooms here!" Naruto pointed at the room, as they passed it.

Sasuke nodded, looking around. There sure were many rooms. He hoped he wouldn't get lost later on. He was going to ask Naruto something, when Kakashi appeared in front of him.

Kakashi's eye made the shape of an upside down U.

"ah! Naruto, here you are! I was looking for you!" He said, happily. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Obviously..."

"Well, anyway, Naru-chan, I came to get you. I have to check on that seal Orochimaru put on you...so you'll have to come with me." He said, and both the genin looked at him in suspicion.

"That better be all you are planning, sensei..." Sasuke almost growled. Kakashi sweatdropped.

"Iruka's going to be there also..." He said slowly, and Sasuke relaxed somewhat.

Naruto stepped forward, and Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder. With a wave, the two disappeared.

Sasuke looked around.

"Hn." He said. "I'm already lost."

He sighed and walked into the recreational room, where he saw the Sand team, minus that Gaara guy, and Sakura, who waved once she saw him. He smiled, and waved back, walking up to her.

"Hey." She said kindly, as he sat down at the table she was seated.

"Hey. Done filling the teachers in already? Kakashi just came to check on Naruto." Sasuke said. Sakura nodded.

"Yes. They were really worried. Iruka-sensei looked as if he was going to wet his pants!" She explained, grinning. Sasuke was about to say something else, when Kankuro stepped forward.

"You should more worried for your teammate than ever." He said, really seriously. The two looked up at him in shock. Sasuke stepped up, his eyes narrowed.

"Is that a threat?" He growled, and Kankuro stepped back, hands up in the 'I didn't do it' gesture.

"No! I'm warning you! He came in here earlier looking for something," He started and Sakura looked at Sasuke. "And Gaara seemed to take an interest in him. He followed shortly after." Kankuro looked slightly scared.

"Gaara, he's crazy, man. Everyone at home is scared of him. That Naruto guy is in huge danger." Sakura and Sasuke shared a glance.

"He'd probably get disqualified if he hurt another genin out of the exams-" Sakura started, not really believing the Sand-nin who had earlier called her, and Naruto, 'weak onnas'. Kankuro burst out.

"Gaara doesn't care about that! All he cares about is spilling blood! He's probably waiting to attack Naruto right now!"

- -

Naruto stood up, brushing his kimono down as he did. He looked up at his two teachers, who were still looking at him worriedly.

"Are you sure you feel okay?" Iruka asked as Kakashi looked down, thinking the situation over. Naruto placed a finger on his old teacher's lips, gently, and smiled.

"Worry not, old friend. I am fine, or will be, in time-" His meaningful words were interrupted as his eyes widened. "Hey! That rhymes!" He giggled, and Iruka relaxed somewhat.

Naruto turned to Kakashi as the cyclops looked back up. "So what's the diagnosis, doc?" He joked. Kakashi took out his porn.

"I don't think I can undo the seal. Not completely, anyway." He said. "I can make sure that it doesn't affect your chakra control, but I'm afraid that Kyuubi's going to be in isolation for a while." He said, and started making seals. Naruto grinned.

"Well, too bad, so sad!" He grinned, and loosened the sash around his middle, and exposed his seal. Kakashi brought his hand forward, and slammed it into Naruto's stomach. Naruto breathed in sharply, and let the technique do its work.

A few seconds later, Kakashi removed his hand. Naruto eyes him, annoyed, as he redid his clothing.

"You had your hand on me a bit too long, Kaka-baka. Watch it." He warned as he walked off.

"I can't help it, your skin is soooo smooth and-" Thud. It sounded like Iruka had punch Kakashi into the ground. Naruto grinned.

He walked through the halls, trying to remember where he was. Kakashi had just poofed him here, so he had no idea how to get back. Looking around silently, he walked, aware of the danger he could be in, if another genin wanted to get rid of their competition.

After a few minutes, he stopped, and sniffed.

"You can come out now, I know you're here." He called out, turning around. Out of the shadows, in a swirl of sand, Gaara of the Sand emerged.

Naruto blinked. "Oh. It's you, the Gaara guy." He said, watching the sand carefully. His caution was well rewarded, as the sand shot forward, a sand spike ready to impale (snicker) him.

Naruto smirked, and raised a hand. Just as the sand reached him, the water in the air condensed and froze the sand. It crashed to the floor.

Naruto looked up at Gaara, who was staring back in surprise.

"You...control water, yet you harbour the demon of fire?" Gaara asked, and Naruto's eyes widened.

"How did you-"

"I saw you tell the Uchiha. I too am cursed to be a demon container(didn't want to attempt to spell the japanese word for human sacrifice)."

Naruto looked over at the at the other boy for a while.

"...You hold Ichibi, the Tanuki, then?" He asked. Gaara nodded. "Fine then, but why did you attack me? What do you want?"

Gaara stepped forward. "How do you keep the voice from screaming all the time? How do you not go insane?" He asked, staring intently at the kitsune, making Naruto nervous.

"Kyuubi-kun does not scream, not anymore! He is like the father I never had." He said. Gaara's head tilted to the side; if Naruto wasn't in danger, he would have called him Kawaii.

"Not anymore? Why did he stop?" He asked, taking another step forward. Naruto stepped back, against the wall.

He smiled, bitterly, which was strange to see, as he had always looked so happy. "He realized that I was getting enough shit from the villagers, and he took pity on me." He said slowly.

"Why did you simply not kill the ones who hurt you like I do?" Was Gaara's next question. Naruto looked up.

"'Cause that would be proving them right! All the names, demon, monster, devil," With each name, Gaara's eyes grew wider. "All the beatings, the torture, it would all be proven to be the right thing to do!" He said, his voice louder.

Gaara stepped forward again. Naruto looked at him through wary eyes.

"Don't get any closer" The blonde warned. In spite of this, Gaara took another step.

"They beat you? Do they not fear of being killed?"

Naruto snorted. "Do you really think I made my power public knowledge? Ha! That would just, in their minds, prove I was a demon! They would send every available ninja to kill me. So, no, they don't fear me. They just hate me." He breathed out, moving his sleeves out of the way.

"You've upset me enough. I get enough of this from nearly everyone else, I do not need more from you. I hardly know you." Naruto was about to step forward, and move around the other, but Gaara took a big step forward, till he was right in front of the blond, almost touching him. "I..." For once, Naruto was lost for words. He'd usually make some sort of crack about the other's sexual orientation, but he couldn't even think of one.

Gaara, who was annoyingly slightly taller, looked down, right into Naruto's eyes.

"What keeps you from killing them? What keeps you from insanity? I need to know!" At the last sentence, Naruto heard a bit of desperation edged into his voice. Naruto's anger dwindled, until it was non-existent.

"My friends keep me from killing, and madness. They love me, and that's all the love I need. They, compared to everything else, are more important. They know who I really am, and they still accept me for me." He answered. His heart ached when he saw cluelessness in Gaara's eyes.

"...Friends?" He said, as if trying the word out for the first time. He probably was.

"Yes...do you have friends?" Naruto asked, knowing the answer. Gaara's eyes clouded, and he stepped to the side, to allow Naruto safe passage. Naruto slowly walked past him, but paused.

Turning around, he gently placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder. Gaara jumped, and his sand shot over to Naruto's hand, to stop him if he wished to harm its master. Gaara slowly turned to look at Naruto. Naruto smiled softly.

"If you don't have any friends, Gaa-kun, I..." He paused for a second. "I'd like to be your friend." He said, and watched Gaara looked up in shock and hope.

Gaara was about to talk when-

"Stop! Get away from Naruto!" A voice called out, and around the corner came Sasuke, Sakura, Kankuro and Temari. They surrounded the two.

"Naru-chan, are you okay?" Sakura asked, hugging Naruto briefly. He smiled and assured them that he was fine. Sasuke glared at Gaara.

"What did you do to him?" He accused, and just as Gaara was going to teleport away, Naruto answered for him.

"He didn't do anything! Don't assume stuff, guys! We're just talking. You know, the Chuunin exams ARE meant for us to meet new people. We were getting to know eachother, right, Gaa-kun?" He explained, and everyone looked over at Gaara, sceptical.

Gaara, on the other hand, was shocked. Had he, for the first time ever, just been defended? By someone he had just cornered and asked upsetting questions? What was going on?

He nodded, dazed, and Naruto smiled.

"See? He didn't want to hurt me. He's my friend!" He said happily, easily shocking everyone else in the hall.

Naruto squeezed Gaara's shoulder gently, then let his hand slide off. He walked over to his teammates.

"I am glad you're here, though! I'm completely lost right now! Kaka-baka didn't tell me where we were. Can you lead the way back?" He asked, slinging an arm on his team mate's shoulder each. They nodded, cautious, and as Team Seven walked off, Naruto looked back at Gaara, and smiled.

Gaara's sibling's looked at Gaara, as if to try and foretell his next action. Gaara smiled to himself, and disappeared in a swirl of sand. Temari blinked, and sighed, looking over at her brother. She frowned.

Kankuro was glaring down at where Gaara had just been. She called his name, and he looked up, a bit of jealousy in his eyes.

Temari looked at the puppet boy sternly. "You aren't going to start anything." she told him. Kankuro let out a small laugh, obvious that he didn't mean the action of joy.

"'Course not. I mean, who would willingly upset Gaara?" He mumbled, before walking off, eyes glued to the floor. Temari sighed.

"This cannot end well. Damn it, Naruto." She followed her brothers.

"Naruto-chan, Gaara isn't anywhere near now. Tell us what really happened." Sasuke asked, looking worried. Naruto smirked, flicking Sasuke's chin playfully.

"Aww, Sasu-kun really cares about me." He started, making fun. Then he turned serious (I was tempted to write 'Sirius' lol). "Though, honestly, he just wanted to talk to me. It seems...that he also is a human sacrifice. To the Ichibi." He said, getting to the team room. Sakura walked into the bathroom, to get changed.

"Shukaku? The one-tail?" Her voice sounded from behind the door. Naruto nodded, even though she wouldn't see it.

"What did he want?" Sasuke asked, thinking. Naruto looked to the right, uncomfortably.

"His seal is weak, so he has trouble controlling the demon inside. He wanted to know how I kept from killing people, and going crazy." He explained, untying the sash from his waist. He pulled off the kimono, showing his shorts and a chainmail shirt underneath. He sat down on his bed, unclasping his hair. It fell down to his lower back, and it was all wavy. He blew a stray lock away from his face. Sakura walked out from the bathroom, grabbed Sasuke, and pushed him in, locking the door.

"Have a shower. You stink." She ordered, and after hearing a sarcastic, "Yes mother." From the pale boy, she turned to Naruto. "Your hair is so soft! We can do each other's hair!" She said, touching the blonde locks. Naruto looked at her, weirded out. "What?" She asked.

"You DO know I'm a boy? And, underneath, I think like a boy?" He reminded. Sakura shrugged. "That means you're freaking me out." He jumped away from the girl, who chased after him. She finally caught him, after twenty minutes of running and hiding behind a nearly naked Sasuke, who spaced out for the rest of the night, a tiny blush on his cheeks after Naruto made a passing comment about his 'hawt nekkidness'

As Sakura happily played with Naruto's hair, the blonde looked out the window, eyes showing the concern he had. What was going to happen next in the exams?

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AN: I AM SOOOO SORRY FOR TAKING FOREVER TO UPLOAD!! MOVING TOOK FOREVER, MY INTERENT TOOK AGES TO FINALLY WORK, AND GOING TO A NEW SCHOOL IS HARD! ANYWAY, I'M GOING TO TRY AND UPLOAD MORE NOW, BUT I'VE GOT TO GET PAST THIS HUUUUGE CASE OF WRITER'S BLOCK. I'LL TRY MY HARDEST TO KEEP GOING. PS: IM WRITING LOADS OF OTHER STORIES FOR FUN. SHOULD I JUST UPLOAD THEM TOO, EVEN THOUGH THEYRE NOT SERIOUS STORIES? I THINK THEYRE PRETTY GOOD, BUT THEY WON'T BE UPDATED THAT OFTEN...


	18. Chapter 17

"Naru-chan! Get up!" A female voice called, softly. Naruto hummed sleepily, waving the hand that reached to shake him away.

"Five more...er...minutes...we have three days until the next exam, what's the rush?" He asked, and Sakura huffed.

"Just leave him. He's too tired to care." Sasuke said, looking down at the half asleep blonde almost fondly. Sakura laughed.

"I think he'd care if he he knew that Hinata's team got here, a bit after Lee's team!" She bent down slyly. "Naru-chan....Kiba-KUN's here...you know, that guy you like to tease..." She said, but Naruto was already up, getting dressed.

"GOTTA-PLAY-WITH-MY-TOY-SEE-YA-BYE!" He shouted, strapping on his shoes, and running out.

Sakura shook her head smiling, and Sasuke brooded.

Naruto jumped onto the ceiling, running through the hall as fast as he cared to, following Kiba's scent. He opened the door, righting himself, and jumped right passed an amused Hinata, into Kiba's bed, where he and Akamaru were slowly waking up.

"What the-" Kiba yelled out, but caught an armful of blonde.

"Ohayo, Kiba-kun!" he greeted, from on top of the dog boy. Akamaru sat on the fox-boy's shoulder happily, tongue lolling from his mouth. Kiba looked up at Naruto, eyes half closed.

"Oh, Naru-chan...if only you did this out of my dreams..." He mumbled, and Naruto blinked. He leaned back, placing a hand on his chest.

"Why, Kiba-kun, I didn't know you harboured such feelings for me! Truly?" He asked dramatically. Kiba suddenly turned wide awake, and pushed him over.

"Of course not, Naru-baka!" He said, smiling slightly. Naruto pouted, and looked over Kiba at Hinata.

"Ohayo, Hina-hime! How did you go in the exam?" He asked, and Hinata helped him up.

"Very well, arigato. You're wearing new clothes?" She asked, and Naruto nodded, twirling around. He turned back to Kiba, who was still staring at him. He placed a finger on the boy's nose, flicking it.

"I really think that you DID dream about me, with the way you're staring." He said happily, but turned when Shino entered. "Ah! Shino-kun, don't seem to recall giving you much love!" He said, suddenly switching to Shino, hugging him from the side. Shino stiffened, and Hinata smiled.

"When did you get here?" Shino asked, and Naruto smiled.

"Halfway through yesterday. What about you?" He asked, and Kiba got up, stretching, pointedly ignoring Naruto's leer.

"Got here during the night with Neji and Shikamaru's teams." He said, and Naruto smiled.

"Gaa-kun's team got here too, just so you know." He said, and all three paled.

"G-Gaara? Sabaku-no-Gaara?" Hinata said fearfully. Naruto frowned and nodded. Kiba jumped back.

"He's really dangerous. Stay away from him!" He almost shouted, and Naruto placed his hands on his hips.

"OH really? To me, he seems to be a lonely boy who no one wants to talk to! He's my friend!" He said defiantly, and Hinata smiled shakily.

"Only you, Naru-chan..." She muttered but Kiba grabbed Naruto's shoulders.

"What do you mean, your friend! He kills so easily!" He said, and twitched when Naruto pushed back to the bed, sitting on him. Naruto let out a guttural growl, eyes flashing red.

"If you push me, I'll kill the same way..." He said, before smiling sadly. "Kiba-kun, please, give him a chance, ne? He's like me, and you don't see me killing people." He asked, and got up. "Hina-hime, I will see you later to train, ne?" Kiba grumbled.

"They're both insane..." He said, and Hinata looked at him pointedly.

"Of course, Naru-chan." Naruto circled Shino once, before leaving with a wave.

"Naruto-san." A voice said from behind him. He jumped, twirling around, claws up. He stiffened when he saw the elder Hyuuga.

"Yessss?" He hissed, watching the boy warily. Neji eyed Naruto's claws.

"I would like to speak to you." Naruto raised an eyebrow. He lowered his guard.

"Fine." Neji looked around.

"Perhaps somewhere less....open." Naruto's eyes narrowed. "This isn't a trick." Neji added. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Famous last words." He muttered, but consented to follow. They entered a spare room, and Naruto closed the door behind him.

He crossed his arms. "Well?"

Neji watched him for a moment. Naruto looked around carefully, in case of any traps. Neji chose that moment to step forward, reaching out to touch Naruto's stomach. Naruto stiffened, and the water in the air condensed, stopping Neji's hand. He blinked down at it, and Naruto gave him a small glare. Then it softened.

"You want to see the seal." Naruto stated. Neji looked up, and nodded. The water released the hand, and Naruto undid his kimono. Neji tried not to stare at Naruto's almost bare chest, and focused on where the seal had been before. Naruto focused, and it slowly appeared. Neji looked over it, fingers tracing over the marks. Naruto made a strange noise.

"That tickles." He said, a tiny smile on his face. Neji's mouth twitched, then he frowned.

"That wasn't here last time." He pointed to some seals that were on top of another set. Naruto sighed. "Before I meet you in the forest, we had just fought against Orochimaru, the snake sannin." Neji looked up in shock. "I used some power stored in this seal, but he placed his own to block it. The new ones on top of them are from my teacher, to stop my chakra from being affected." Neji looked Naruto over.

"You faced a sannin, and survived?!" Naruto smiled.

"I have good friends. We work well together." Then he frowned. "But care to explain why you got so tense when I told you this was a seal?" Neji turned away.

"I also have a seal. One that has taken away my choices in life, leaving me to fate." Naruto raised an eyebrow, doing up his kimono again.

"Fate?" He questioned, sitting down. Neji nodded, and hesitantly, he reached up to his headband, and pulled it off. He sat down, and Naruto looked over the seal in awe. "This is...the Caged Bird Seal!" He gasped, touching it. Neji shifted under Naruto's gaze.

"It is used to control the Branch Members of the Hyuuga clan." Naruto frowned. Neji grit his teeth. "The leader of the clan, my...." He hesitated. "...uncle, used this to kill my father." Naruto gasped.

"I'm so sorry." He said honestly. He placed a hand on Neji's shoulder. Neji looked down at him. "My seal is a mark of pain too. Many people died creating it, and I suffer from the abuse people give because of it." He looked down with a small smile. "Though, in some ways, it is a gift. It has given me many true friends I can trust my life with." He looked up at Neji. "And I'm still looking for more." His eyes held the question he didn't speak aloud. Neji's eyes widened, then, stepping forward, drew Naruto into a hug. Naruto stiffened, before relaxing into the older boy's embrace.

"Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto smiled.

"It's Naru-chan to you, Neji-kun." He said, getting up. "It's early, why don't we get some food?" Neji nodded, slightly uncomfortable at what he had done. Naruto gave him an easy grin, and they walk out of the room together. Naruto noticed Neji's unease, then, with a smirk, grabbed Neji's hand and pulled him along. Neji's eyes widened.

"What-?"

"We're friends now, so I get to be as friendly as I want, and whenever you act strange, I'll get even closer!" He said evilly. The walked into the main living room.

"Ohayo, minna-san!" Naruto called. The ninjas lying around mumbled. Naruto glared at Kabuto's team, and frowned.

"Where's my little Spring Dragon?" He muttered, pouting. Neji looked at him funnily.

"Who?" He asked, moving his arm out of the blonde's grasp.

"RYUUUUUuuuuuuuuu......" Naruto pouted harder, and Neji looked away from the pout's glow, and silently activated his Byakuugan. He gave a small shrug.

"He's not here." Naruto sniffed, and dragged Neji further into the room.

Sasuke got up, watching Neji carefully.

"Naruto-chan, where were you? I thought you were only going to see Kiba." He asked, and Neji stared back at him.

"I asked to speak with him." Naruto rolled his eyes. "I've yet another friend for you to know, Sasu-kun!" Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and Naruto leaned on him. "But don't worry; you're still my favourite." Sasuke rolled his eyes, and sat down, as Sakura entered the room.

"Hi everyone." Her eyes skimmed over the people assembled there. "It seems like everyone who's going to get here is already here. Waiting three more days is useless." She said, sighing. Everyone nodded, even the two teams they weren't really familiar with.

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Hi, minna-san! I'm sorry if this chapter seems a bit.....bad. My dog's dying and I'm needed to take take of him, along with loads of other things.


	19. Chapter 18

**ITS...ITS ALIVE! OH MY GAWD. Thank you all of my reviewers for gettting my ass back on track!**

**Though...I don't really like this chapter-does it seem too forced or something? The problem is- when you get 160 reviews (YES 160 WHAT THE HELL) on how good your fic is (which made me blink a few times in confusion), you worry. Well i do. As its been, what, YEARS since i last updated of even thought on this fic, my style has obviously changed, and im worried that it wont hold a candle to the earlier chapters. So, can I ask for some feedback? How different is this chapter? Was it even funny? Should I just stop and commit suicide right now for my fails?**

**Also! Please do review and give your opinion on the story! You have been so far, and that's what gets my inspiration and writing juices flowing! Srsly.**

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THREE DAYS LATER

Naruto ran a hand down his clothes as he waited outside his team's room. He had been able to get Iruka to pick up some clothes for him (after cunningly pointing out that the kimono showed too much skin for his protective teacher's liking- Iruka then agreed without any trouble.)He looked down at what Iruka had given him, lips twitching in slight annoyance.

"Darn you, Iruka! I refuse to conform to the NORM." He muttered to himself. He had rather liked wearing skirts. They were cool in the summer heat, and made it so EASY to get discounts for things.

Sakura walked through the doorway, tying up her hair. "Sasuke-kun's just sealing up all his things, then we'll go. It's not like we're going to be-" She finally looked up, and froze. Naruto gave her a sour grin.

"Something wrong?" He asked. She looked him over, shocked.

"Y-you're not wearing girl's clothes!" She said in a half-whisper. Naruto shrugged in a 'well, what-are-you-gonna-do' way.

"Iruka." Sakura looked him over. It had been a long time since he'd worn guy clothes, besides when he slept. Now he wore a short orange tank top that stopped above his navel, and a black chainmail shirt on top. He also wore odd black trousers, that, on one leg, were a baggy trouser leg, while on the other it was cut to the length of quite short shorts, which were bandaged and the end. The rest of the leg was covered in chainmail. Naruto huffed, swishing his ponytail over his shoulder. "I don't look like a girl at all now." He pouted. "There was an actual point to it, you know..."

"Err, you sort of do, the uncovered leg makes you look more feminine..."

Sasuke walked out, looking down at his holster, putting the scroll in.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto still looks like a girl, right?" Sasuke looked up blinking.

"What...?" He saw Naruto, and looked him over. Naruto crossed his arms, waiting. Sasuke realized he had been staring a bit too long, and coughed, looking down the hall. "He'll still pass for a girl. Many kunoichi bind themselves to make it easier to fight." He smiled slightly and Naruto started to grin.

"You look good in male clothes, too." Sakura commented, as they started to walk towards the main room for the third part of the Exam. "But now who will I have to go clothes shopping with me?" Naruto deadpanned.

"I never went clothes shopping with you." Sakura ignored him. "ANYWAY, I'm going right back to good, old, wholesome, pure, NORMAL crossdressing," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "-After the exam."

"Uzu- Naruto-kun." Neji greeted, as Team Seven met his team on the way. "You're wearing something new again." He observed. Naruto smirked.

"Well, thanks, Obvious-san. I hope that didn't take the Byakuugan to figure out." Neji gave him a semi-annoyed look, and Lee walked briskly along with them, as Tenten had a conversation with Sakura. The closer the group got to their destination, the more determinedly the blonde boy's eyes flashed.

Sasuke noticed Naruto's smirk. "So now you'll show us your techniques, _right_?" He asked, and Naruto glanced over at him, before grabbing his arm, and increasing his speed, making them go faster.

"Hells yes." Sasuke grinned.

"Good. I want to know what this 'blizzard' business is about. Hurry." They moved ahead of the group, turning a corner.

"You're so impatient sometimes, Sasu-kun!" Naruto laughed.

The others watched them go. Tenten placed a hand on her hip.

"Uh...do they know they're going the wrong way?" She asked. Sakura sweatdropped.

"They have no sense of direction..."

Lee shook his head vigorously, making an 'X' with his raised arms. "I'm sure they went there on purpose! Naruto-kun surely knows what he's doing!" Neji sighed.

"Volume, Lee. Volume." He reminded, and Lee blinked, before rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Eh, sorry minna-san. I got overpowered by my youth...Hehe.." Sakura was looking back at him, studying him. Lee finally noticed, and cocked his head to the side. "How can I help you, Sakura-chan?" He asked, grinning.

Sakura straightened, before turning to walk again, a soft smile on her face. "Nothing, Lee-kun..."

Lee and his team mates started to walk, and he bounded ahead to catch up with Sakura, walking alongside her. "So how are you feeling about the preliminaries, Sakura-chan?" He asked, striking up conversation.

Sakura closed her eyes. "...Youthful." She said, before giggling a bit. Lee's eyes sparkled, as he raised a fist.

"Of course you are! With your radiant beauty and skills, you shall be a perfect rose, with deadly thorns!" Sakura blinked, before looking to the side, away from Lee, in an attempt to hide the blush that rose on her cheeks.

"That...was poetic." She said after a moment. Lee chuckled.

Tenten and Neji watched from behind. "Huh...Odd." Neji looked over at the girl.

"What is?" He asked, shortly.

"Well...aside from the fact that Naruto and Sasuke-san are still not back? Lee's actually...not...not-normal."

Neji stared at her. "'Not not-normal'?" He repeated, slightly incredulous. "Lee is never..._not not-normal_."

Tenten was silent for a while, frowning slightly.

"What is it now?" The Hyuuga asked, noticing the expression.

"Hold on...I've confused myself with all the negatives." She sweatdropped, laughing at herself good naturedly.

Neji smirked, as they walked into the chamber in which they were to prove their right to become chuunin...and to show off.

A quick glance told them that the teams were lining up, waiting for the Hokage. Neji led his team to the space between Team Eight and Ten, while Sakura stood beside Hinata on the other side, arms crossed.

"...Where is Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan? Or Sasuke-kun?" She asked, looking around, concerned. Sakura blew out, annoyed.

"Either lost...or...no, there's no other option. They're lost. This has happened so many times. I don't know what the hell it is about this building." She whispered, twitching. Ino leaned back, into sight, behind Hinata, and smirked.

"Naruto's gotten them lost, I bet." She giggled lightly. Sakura just shook her head.

The Third Hokage walked into the room, slowly, and composed. He smiled as he saw the promising new generation of could-be chuunins. His eyes then caught Sakura standing all on her lonesome in her line, and only two people in Sabaku no Gaara's line and frowned slightly.

"It seems some of us have yet to arrive." He commented, walking past them. Sakura sighed.

"They're probably lost, sir..." She muttered as he passed her. He chuckled.

"Understandable."

Temari, on the other hand, scowled. "Damn it...where _is_ he? He said he'd be gone only a few minutes..." Her brother was silent, paying attention.

Hayate cleared his throat, coughing for a few seconds. "We can wait for a few minutes longer. The preliminaries aren't supposed to start ye-" He descended into a fit of coughs. Iruka gave him a few pats on his back, attempting to help. Hayate waved him off, straightening. "I'm fine."

Sakura sweatdropped. "Sure. And I'm alive." She muttered, and the teams next to her gave her questioning looks.

The group heard running, and turned to see Naruto and Sasuke being pushed into the room, faces red, sweaty, and clothes ruffled. Kankuro walking in behind them, glaring.

"Ah, they've joined us." Sarutobi said happily, ignoring the annoyance in the atmosphere. Sasuke straightened, pushing Kankuro's hand away from him.

"Hands off, paint-face." He growled. Kankuro twitched, still holding up a blinking Naruto by his collar.

"That's a great way to thank the guy who made sure you weren't _late_!" Naruto huffed.

"We would've found our way back on our own!" Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"You wouldn't have done a good job- you two were just love-doving against the wall!" He snorted. The two went red again.

"Wh-what?" Most of the Rookie genin and Sasuke himself asked, bug eyed.

"What the hell kinda things does that perverted brain of yours think up?" Naruto managed, struggling from the older boy''s grip.

Kankurou gave him a dry look, but under it, there was real annoyance. "The Uchiha had you pressed against a wall!"

Sakura raised a hand slowly, before slapping it to her face.

Ino gaped, Kiba coughed, looking off. Shikamaru and Shino's eyebrows raised, and while Temari copied Sakura's action, Gaara watched the interaction intently.

Naruto crossed his arms. "He just being a bastard! He said _I_ got us lost!"

"I was _stopping you_ from going the wrong way, _again_."

"Teme!"

"Dobe!"

The two glared at each other, before laughing.. "D-Damn it Sasu-kun, why does this place keep getting us lost?" Naruto giggled, trying to catch his breath. Sakura walked closer, tapping her foot on the floor.

"Both of you-THE LINE. NOW." The boys stiffened, and then sighed.

"Yes ma'am."

Naruto elbowed Kankuro in the side, to get his attention.

"What?" He grunted, looking down at the blonde.

"I'm sorry I was close to Sasu-kun and got you jealous." He said softly, pouting a little and fiddling with his hands. Kankuro blinked, taking a while to register what Naruto was saying.

"E-eh, what are you talking about, leaf nin?" He muttered, looking over the blonde to the other people. Naruto smirked, leaning against the taller boy, closely. The sand nin stiffened.

"It's okay, I totally understand." He led them to the lines. "I get it. It's completely natural. He _is_ incredibly sexy."

"...Wait, what?"

Naruto nodded to himself, hands running along his ponytail. "I don't blame you for having a thing for Sasuke-kun!" He assured. Now that they were next to Kankuro's team, his siblings heard. Temari snorted.

"The Uchiha, _huh_?" She asked, voice heavy with amusement. Kankuro flushed.

"So, see ya! I'll put in a good word for you!"

"What the- blondie, that's not it, damnit!" But Naruto was already walking off, grinning triumphantly.

Temari continued to smirk. "So why _did_ you go after them?"

Kankuro scowled. "We needed the Uchiha in the open...yeah?" He said quietly, sounding annoyed. "Also, I assumed Gaara would want the blonde in the exams." He glanced sideways and the redhead, who was shifting between watching Naruto and the Hokage.

"Good."


End file.
